Caged Wings
by Ravedrake
Summary: The beginning of a world that takes over Earth as we speak. This is the beginning on how our world is changed. One girl is trying to make a difference as the Earth is being over run by monsters. Any kind you can think of.
1. Prologue

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Prologue: How it Began**_

**It was a nice and bright sunny day in the small city of Brantford. It was a shame that some had to spend it at work.**

**In a grocery store on Icomm Drive, people shopped, others served costomers. Price Choppers was what it was called. Inside, a few girls were talking on the top floor in the employee's lunchroom. One was cleaning the table of the lunchroom, while the other was putting in clean garbage bags in the garbage bins.**

**They both wore blue work shirts with the name Price Chopper on an orange patch on the left sides. One looks up from her work, "Hey Carrie?"**

**Carrie looks up from the lunch table, "Hm? Yeah Kelly?"**

**Kelly then said, "What time do you work till?"**

**Carrie replied, "Ten."**

**Carrie had short redish brown hair and blackish brown eyes. She had an average build, standing 5,5 in height. She wasn't pale tonned either, just had a light dark tone to her. **

**Kelly smiles, "Yay! You get to close with me!"**

**Carrie chuckles, "I guess I do."**

**Kelly stood 5,4 in height. Fairly skinny and had shoulder length black and orangish hair, but mostly black. Her eyes were a dark blueish, not really noticeable at a distance. She also had braces and a peach tone to her.**

**Kelly ties up the garbage, "RORSCHACH!"**

**Carrie laughs and says back, "GAARA!"**

**Kelly laughs too. A thing they always did. Call out their favourite character's name to one another for laughs. Carrie's was Rorschach, a comicbook vigilante with a trenchcoat and moving inkblots on his mask. Carrie adored him.**

**Kelly's on the other hand, was an anime character named Gaara. He was a red headed emo as people called him with a tattoo on his forehead and the power to control sand. Kelly was crazy over him. But not as much as Carrie was for Rorschach.**

**Carrie finishes cleaning the tables. She then said, "I'm all done."**

**Kelly ties up the last garbage bag in the room, "I'm not....I just need to get the last one in the other room."**

**Carrie then said, "Okay, I'll wait for ya."**

**Kelly shrugs, "Okay."**

**They both go to the other room. Kelly get the last bin and digs in it. She gets pricked, "Ouch."**

**Carrie looks, "What happened?"**

**Kelly shrugs, "I dunno, something pricked my wrist."**

**Kelly looks inside the bin. Her face lights up as she pulls out a razorblade from the bin, "So THAT'S what was cutting my wrist!"**

**Carrie raises an eyebrow and then starts to laugh.**

*** * ***

**Carrie and Kelly start to carry the garbage bags down the stairs, arriving at the front end of the store, where huge windows were visable. **

**From the looks of it, the place was pretty busy. The girls both drop off the bags at the first till. Kelly says, "Thanks for helping."**

**Carrie smiles and shrugs, "No prob."**

**In one of the isles, a tall boy was stacking shelves. He had short, dark brown hair. He stood around 6,1 in height and thick in width. He also had yellowish green eyes. **

**He worked in the grocery department. Someone calls to him, "Hey, Kevan. Could you go out and do carts?"**

**Kevan looks, "Okay."**

**He then starts to head to the front end of the store. Once there, he sees Carrie and Kelly.**

**Carrie smiles brightly, "Nash!"**

**Kevan smiles and gives a wave, "Hell-lo"**

**Nash was a nickname Carrie gave Kevan, Stood for Narly, Acrobatic, Sickningly, Homo. He had no idea how on earth Carrie came up with all that. It was also the last name of a wrestler which happened to be named Kevin Nash.**

**Carrie then said, "What's up?"**

**Kelly runs up to him and pokes him, "Poke!"**

**Kevan looks at Kelly with a raised eyebrow, "Uhh....apparently poking."**

**Kelly laughs, "Yay for poking!"**

**Carrie laughs.**

**Suddenly, thunder was heard from outside. The three look outside and saw the clouds going black and grey. Carrie says, "Looks like it's gonna storm."**

**Kevan agrees, "Yeah, it does."**

**A costomer goes up to the window, "W-what's that?"**

**Carrie, Kelly, and Kevan go right up to the window and look outside. They see a strange looking man with a black aura behind him. Carrie's eyes squint a little, "What the hell is that?"**

**Kelly blinks, "It wasn't there before."**

**Kevan's eyes widened a little, "I never seen anything like it."**

**Eventually a crowd was forming to look outside as well. The black aura was getting bigger and bigger. The man was really pale and his eyes glew a reddish colour. Carrie then whispers to Kelly, "Is it just me, or does that guy seem like he's possessed?"**

**Kelly looks at Carrie and whispers back, "I think he is."**

**Carrie nods, "I thought so."**

**As the aura grew bigger, people began to panic. Carrie and Kelly looked around. The thunder got louder and then there was a HUGE flash of red lightning. There were screams and murmurs all around. The aura soon turned into a giant circle.**

**It then was starting to form something, something big. It soon turned into a circular black thing with silver linings in a shape of an upside down star.**

**Kevan finally said, "What in God's name is that?"**

**Carrie's and Kelly's eyes widened. They both said in unison, "It's a gate!"**

**Kevan looks at them, "A gate? A gate to what?"**

**Before anyone got to answer, the ground began to shake a little. People shouted, "Earthquake!!"**

**People began to run. Carrie falls, but Kevan catches her, "Woah!"**

**The gate began to open. Massive wind blew from it. Things began to crawl out of it as the aura was sucked out of the possessed man and he then fell and died before he hit the ground. Carrie's eyes widened as she shouted, "Run!"**

**Kelly began to run as did Carrie, but she looked to see Kevan still staring outside. Carrie grabs his wrist, "Come on!"**

**Carrie pulls Kevan until he began to run with her. The three run in the nearest isle as the people around them scrambled about. Kelly looks back at Carrie and Kevan, "Where should we go?"**

**Kevan then said, "Let's go to the back. Seems to be the safest."**

**Kelly nods, "Okay."**

**She leads the way towards the meat department. They turn and and go into a pair of grey doors. They all run to the very back of the stock room. The three stop and look back. They hear screaming, but then everything goes silent. Carrie, Kelly, and Kevan all step back into the end of the hallway, near the box room. They all hear heavy footsteps on the outside of the backroom.**

**Kelly whispers, "What's going on?"**

**Carrie replies back in a whisper, "I don't know, everything went quiet."**

**Kevan then said, "Listen."**

**They listen and hear the footsteps come closer. They all back into the very back of the box room. The three began to get a little scared. The air became thick and cool. The smell in the room was foul. Kelly covers her nose, "Good God! What's that smell?!"**

**Kevan and Carrie cover their noses too. Kevan says, "Man, that reeks!"**

**Carrie looks and sees a shadow of a giant figure. She whispers, "Guys?"**

**They look and see as well. Kevan looks around and taps Carrie, "Over here...."**

**He nudges toward the machine that crushed the boxes. They all hide behind it. The figure finally appears. Everyone's eyes widened. Kelly went to gasp, but Carrie covered her mouth. Kevan whispers, "What the fuck is that?!"**

**The figure was a hideous looking creature carrying a club with spikes. Carrie's eyes widened even more. She whispered, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was a fucking troll! That explains the smell!"**

**Kevan shakes his head, "No way! That can't be!"**

**Kelly takes Carrie's hand from her mouth and whispers, "It is! There's no mistaking it!"**

**Kevan takes another look at it, "Well, whatever it is, there's no getting around it."**

**Carrie looks around, and then sees the lifter machine. Carrie whispers as she points to it, "How do you work that thing?"**

**Kevan looks, "What're you going to do?"**

**Carrie moves a little, "Just come on."**

**The troll then sniffs the air and looks towards Carrie, Kelly, and Kevan's direction. Kevan then points to a button and whispers, "Okay, thats how you turn it on and this here is what steers it."**

**He shows Carrie the buttons and the levers. Kelly comes to them, "What do you have in mind?"**

**Carrie then said, "Watch and find out."**

**Carrie then turns to Kevan, "Help me with this thing. Turn it on and help me push, you got it?"**

**Kevan nods, "Okay."**

**Carrie then said, "Not until I say now though."**

**The troll then goes closer. Kelly then said, "This is weird."**

**Carrie nods, "I know."**

**The troll came right in front of the machine. Carrie shouts, "NOW!"**

**Kevan turns on the switch and helps Carrie push it. They ram it right into the troll. It growls and crashes into a bunch of boxes and lands on it's bottom. Kelly shouts, "RUN!"**

**They all run towards the furthest door. Then they stop dead in their tracks and see a bunch of small greenish beings coming towards them, snarling. Carrie shakes her head, "You gotta be kidding me!" **

**Kelly shouts, "Goblins!"**

**They all walk towards them. The three turn and see the troll was up. Kevan steps back, "Shit! We are soo fucked!"**

**Carrie shakes her head, "Not yet!"**

**Kelly looks around, "Any bright ideas?"**

**Carrie shakes her head and says nervously, "N-no."**

**Kelly then says, "Are we fucked now?"**

**Carrie nods, "Y-yes!"**

**Carrie and Kelly both scream and each grab one of Kevan's arms. They all close their eyes. Carrie opens one eye and sees a room beside them. Carrie pushes Kelly and Kevan in, "In here!"**

**Carrie runs in after them. They close the door. Carrie, Kelly, and Kevan all push the door shut and held it closed with all of their might. The goblins began to bang on the door and tried to push it open. Then the troll stomped through the goblins towards the door.**

**Carrie and the other two hear its footsteps. Kelly shouts, "Brace yourself!"**

**They all close their eyes tight as the troll went to push the door open. They all go flying back as the troll punched the door open. Everything then went black......**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter One: Reunion**_

**Three years had passed since the incident at the grocery store. The world had been taken over by monsters of different races. For a while, the human race were treated as slaves. Later they were let loose to roam as they pleased, but with two exceptions. Laws that only affected humans. The first rule was for the humans to change their birth names, for they were considered revolting to the creatures that had taken their planet. And the second rule was for humans to be forbidden to love outside their races, unless they were able to become that race some way.**

**Carrie had been separated from her friends when the Slavery Period had occurred. After being let out, she swore to find her friends and get them to help take back what's rightfully theirs.**

**Carrie had decided to change her birth name to Raven Corvinous. Naming herself after a mysterious bird she longed admired and always wanted to be like.**

**She later found her little brother among the slaves and had taken him with her after the Great Release Period. She found her family had been lost or died. She didn't know which. **

**Quinn was the name of her little brother. He later changed his name as well. He had changed it to Sith Corvinous. Choosing a name that was dark and vengeful, a little like his heart. He roamed with his sister for the three years of time. Gaining powers along side his elder sis.**

**Raven and Sith began to walk the dark streets. Raven was now 22 and her little brother now 15. Raven now had spikey, black purple hair. In it, she kept a raven feather in it. To honour her culture and her bird. She gained a bit of muscle as well. She wore baggy, black pants with a silver chain hanging from it. She wore a tight, black tank top with ripped sleeves and bottom. Fish net clothing could be shown from underneath her shirt as well. She wore black skater shoes and a spikey collar with spikey wrist bands. On both hands she also wore black gloves. And lastly, she had her eyebrow pierced, along with other areas of her ears, and a tattoo of a black purplish raven on her right shoulder. She also carried a nice sized kitana with a black sheathe with a design of bright purple.**

**Sith on the other hand. He had spikey, jet black hair, with a red biker's bandana covering it. He stood around 5,4, not bad height for his age. He was built fairly well with a little muscle that was noticeable. He also had darting black eyes that were cold and sharp. He wore a white muscle shirt with a dog tag that read **_**Reaper**_** on it. His pants were baggy, ripped blue jeans. He also wore black hiking boots to go with his outfit. On top of his shirt, he wore a leather black vest that had a skull on the back of it. On his left shoulder, he had a tattoo of a Grim Reaper holding a flaming sythe with both hands, ready to swing. He also had his right ear pierced. He kept white bandages wrapped around his hands. On his back, a huge sythe could be shown. It had a silver blade with a red tip. The handle was black with spikes on each end.**

**Sith walks beside Raven, "What're we going?"**

**Raven replies, "To a bar."**

**Sith then asked, "Which one?"**

**Raven chuckles, "Brimstone's."**

**Sith nods, "Oooh! Why?"**

**Raven kept walking, "I overheard someone say the exact description of one of my friends. He said he was hanging at Brimstone's."**

**They soon arrived at a grimey looking place with a sign above that read **_**Brimstone's**_**. A big minotaur was standing in front of it. His arms were crossed and his flaring red eyes looked in all directions, completely alert. Raven smirks at Sith, "Shall we?"**

**Sith nods, "Hell yeah!"**

**They both walk up to the minotaur. His deep, raunchy voice was heard, "Hault! Do you have a pass or reservation?"**

**Before Raven got to answer, he looks to Sith. His eyes narrow, "And you! Are you of legal age?!"**

**Sith looks up with a cold glare. With no thought, he grabs his sythe with one hand and sticks it at the minotaur's throat. His expression is emotionless, "Why....do people proceed to piss me off when they ask my age? And to answer your last question, how about Corvinous? How's that for a reservation?"**

**The minotaur's eyes widened at the speed of this boy's movement. And only with one arm for that matter! As soon as he heard the name **_**Corvinous**_**, he shuddered, "Y-you're the C-Corvinous Siblings?! Please forgive me! You may enter! Do as you please!"**

**He quickly moved aside as Sith smirked as he put his sythe away. Raven smiles and says calmly, "Thank you."**

**They both walked passed the quivering minotaur. When they entered, all sorts of races were seen. Vampires, demons, gargoyles, man-beasts, and other creatures not unheard of. Sith then says, "Who're we finding again?"**

**Raven then said, "I'm not sure, I just hope it's who I think it is."**

**Raven and Sith then walk to the bar and sit on a pair of stools. Raven then said to the bartender, who was a pigface, "Give me some fireball."**

**The bartender snorted, "What kind of fireball, girlie?"**

**Raven smirks, "Whiskey!"**

**The bartender nods, "Very good."**

**He turns to Sith, "And you my boy?"**

**Sith just nods, "Scotch."**

**The bartender nods, "Coming right up."**

**Raven sighs as soon as the bartender left, "We're never gonna find him. Not in this place anyways."**

**Sith pats Raven on the back, "Don't worry about it. Hell, we never even started looking yet!"**

**Just then, a tall man wearing a straw sedge hat that covered his face, sat beside them. He also wore an oriental-like cloak that was dark red, with golden designs on it. He then raised his hand, "Sake please?"**

**Raven's eyes widened. She recognized that voice anywhere. That calm, mellow voice that was like a melody to her ears as of this moment. She turns and looks at the stranger, "N-Nash?"**

**The guy's head raised up a little. He turns and looks at Raven. He smiles, "Never been called that in a looong time."**

**He knew there was only one person who called him that. He takes off his hat, "Carrie? Is that really you?"**

**Raven smiles brightly, "I haven't been called that in a while."**

**Kevan still looked the same, at least to Raven. Kevan chuckles, "I go by Zero now."**

**Raven smiles once more, "And I go by Raven."**

**Zero shakes his head and laughs a little, "I figured as much."**

**Raven hugs him tightly, "Man, it's soo good to see you."**

**Zero chuckles and hugs back, "Aw...well I'm glad to see you too."**

**Raven leans back in her seat, "I was actually looking for you."**

**Zero's eyes widened a bit, "R-really? Well you did a good job of it then."**

**Raven and Zero laugh. Sith then coughs, "Ahem!"**

**Raven turns to Sith, "Oh, this is my brother.....Sith."**

**Zero gives a wave, "Hey there buddy."**

**Sith waves, "Yo."**

**Raven then said, "So, how you've been?"**

**Zero shrugs, "Uh, well I've been getting by. Got a new weapon and learned some new tricks."**

**He then shows Raven his Naginata that he was carrying. Raven's eyes widened, "Oh....my....God! That's awesome looking!"**

**Zero smiles, "I know. I just customized it."**

**Raven looks at it once more, "Cool."**

**Raven then notices Zero's outfit, "Uhh....what's with your outfit? I like it!"**

**Underneath Zero's cloak was a light tannish, buddha-like outfit. Zero looks, "Oh? This? Well....it's what I wear now, since I'm....."**

**Raven then says, "A what? You're a what?"**

**Zero scratches the back of his head, "Uhh......I guess you could say I specialize in martial arts now."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "You mean.....you're a martial arts master now?!!"**

**Zero chuckles and nods, "Y-yeah."**

**Raven smiles, "Th-that's soo cool!"**

**Zero laughs, "What about you?"**

**Raven looks to the floor, "Uh......well.....I'm a......I'm a shaman now. Of course I can fight too, but......not as good as you probrably."**

**Zero's eyes widened a bit, "A shaman? That's pretty cool. And I wouldn't say that. I don't know what you can do, so anything is possible."**

**Raven chuckles, "Yeah."**

**Zero looks at Sith, "And what is he?"**

**Raven then says, "Sith's a soul hunter. A soul hunter for reapers."**

**Zero's eyes widened again, "Nice."**

**Raven then said as all of their drinks arrived, "Listen, the reason why I'm here is because I wanted to find all of my friends. You just happen to be the first. And I wanted to see if I can get people to help me.........well...."**

**Raven looks around and then leans in towards Zero and whispers, "........help me claim our city back."**

**Zero's eyes widened more. He then thinks for a moment, "Hm.....well, I don't see why not? Why separate again?"**

**Raven claps her hands, "Yay! Thank you!"**

**Sith just shakes his head, "People."**

**He takes a sip of his scotch. **

**They all finish their drinks and they stand up to leave. Zero looks to Raven, "Hey, do have a place to stay tonight?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "No, all me and Sith do is drift and find Inns wherever we can."**

**Zero then said, "Well.....if you like, you and your brother can chill at my place for a little while. I don't mind."**

**Raven's eyes brightened, "R-really? That'd be awesome! Thank you soo much!"**

**Zero scratches his head, "Hey, it's not a problem. I'm always happy to have friends over."**

**Raven and Sith then grab their bags that they carried and followed Zero to his place. They arrive and put their bags on the floor near the front door. Zero's home was a small hideout, located not too far from a river. Raven looks around, "Nice digs, man."**

**Zero smiles, "Thanks, I try to keep it in good shape."**

**Everywhere you looked, there were anime posters everywhere. He had a big brown couch with a fair sized television. The carpet was big and grey. Raven's eyes widened when she entered the livingroom, "You STILL have your PS3?!"**

**Zero nods as he puts his Naginata away, "Yup!"**

**Sith jumps across the room to the PS3, "WOW! Can I play it, dude?"**

**Zero waves his hand, "Oh, go ahead!"**

**Sith smiles and turns on the PS3. The first game he puts in is one called **_**Dead Space. **_**Sith was glued right on the televison. Raven shakes her head and chuckles, "That kid. Never changes."**

**Zero scratches his head again, "Kids usually never do."**

**Raven then spots a shelf full of books. She then walks over and looks at them. They were all studies of spells. Raven raises an eyebrow, "You're a spellcaster too?"**

**Zero nods, "Yup! I needed something else, besides fighting, to defend myself."**

**Raven smiles, "Cool. That's kickass!"**

**Zero laughs, "Yeah. You want some pizza and maybe something to drink?"**

**Raven nods, "Yes please!"**

**Zero calls over, "How bout you, Sith? Want some food?"**

**Sith was glued to the game still, "Yeah, sure."**

**They all eat their pizza and drink their drinks. A refreshing meal of a long journey. Zero then asked, "So.....how do you plan on finding the others?"**

**Raven shrugs, "I dunno, but what I DO know is, YOU'RE gonna help me."**

**Zero then said, "It's gonna be tough......but hopefully we can pull it off."**

**Sith then said, "We'll manage. They gotta be here somewhere."**

**Zero laughs, "I like your brother's confidence."**

**Raven chuckles, "Yeah, he's always like that."**

**Zero then said, "Where do you think we should start?"**

**Raven thinks for a minute, then her eyes widened. She looks at Zero, "Galileo Blvd.!"**

**Zero raises an eyebrow, "Where's that?"**

**Raven then said, "You know where West Street use to be?"**

**Zero nods, "Yeah."**

**Raven says firmly, "There! And there is where we must start."**


	3. Chapter 2

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Two: Reunion II**_

**After a good night's rest, Raven, Sith, and Zero were on there way to Galileo Blvd. They walked the streets as the fresh smell of the mourning air still lingered. It was silent for a few moments. Then Zero finally broke it, "So......what happened to you during the Slavery Period?"**

**Raven smiles, "You mean after we got attacked by a troll three years ago?"**

**Zero chuckles, "Uh....yeah...."**

**Raven then looks ahead, "Well......I woke up in a cell surrounded by tons of people. We were in cuffs and chains and was put in a line to walk as prisoners."**

**Zero's eyes deepened with concern, "Oh....."**

**Raven smiles a little, "Yeah, I was separated from everyone I knew. Never saw anyone I recognized. When I got out, I found my brother locked in a cell with a bunch of other kids. I took him on the day the Great Release Period began. Been traveling together ever since."**

**Zero then said, "Did you find any other family?"**

**Raven shoke her head as she made a saddened face, "We found no one. There was only us."**

**Zero then said, "Oh.....I'm sorry to hear that. That must've.......sucked."**

**Raven chuckles, "Yeah, it did."**

**Zero pats her back in comfort. Raven looks up at him and smiles. She felt like she wanted to cry, but she didn't. She rubbed her eyes just in case. Raven then says, "What about you? What happened to you?"**

**Zero sighs, "Well........it's pretty much the same as what you told me. I woke up in a cell with a bunch of people and found no one I knew anywhere. I got out and found none of my friends or family."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "You mean.....you've been by yourself this whole time?"**

**Zero scratches the back of his head, "Well.....for the first year and a half I was. Then I found an elderly asian guy. He was very ill when I came across him on the street. I helped him and for thanks, he let me stay at his place. I helped around the house and then one day, he just randomly came up to me and said he was gonna teach me to master the art of fighting."**

**Raven smiles, "Really? Cool. What was his name?"**

**Zero then looks ahead, "His name was Li Pei. He taught me everything I knew and helped me understand what our city had become over the times. Then......last year, his illness got the better of him. He gave me this Naginata I carry with me before he died on his bed. His last words to me were, **_**I see purity in you. From the first moment I found you. That's why I taught you all I knew, I believe you can help this city. Soon, a lady will come your way to help you. A friend from your past**_**. That was when his eyes closed...."**

**Raven looks to the ground, feeling sad. She whispers, "I'm sorry...."**

**Sith listened to the whole story and didn't bother saying a word. Zero then waves his hand, "It's alright. Don't worry about it. What's there to be sorry for?"**

**Raven then said, "I know. Just.....your story was sad, that's all."**

**Zero chuckles, "Yeah. I know."**

**Raven then hugs Zero. He just smiles and rubs her back.**

**They finally arrive at Galileo Blvd. It was all in ruins. All of the trees were burnt down and then houses looked like rubble and gravestones. Raven's eyes widened at everywhere she looked. She keeps walking as Zero walked beside her and Sith behind her. Sith runs his fingers on his sythe, in case of any danger. He finally says, "This place looks like crap compared to last time we were here."**

**Raven then looks back at Sith, "Sith! Shut up!"**

**Sith then said, "Why don't you?!"**

**Raven just shakes her head as she steps onto a grass field, where a park once stood. She stares at the ground. She whispers, "My.....my best friends......use to live here....."**

**She felt like she was gonna cry again. Zero came right up to her, along with Sith. Sith then said, "Hey, don't worry. Let's look first before we cry, okay?"**

**Raven then nods. As they went to walk, a ball of fire almost hit Raven's feet. She jumps back, "Ah! What the hell?!"**

**Sith gets out his sythe, while Zero gets out his Naginata. They all look around and see no one. Then another ball of fire came. Sith jumped in front and bounced it back with his sythe. A girl finally came out from her hiding. She had her hands out pointing at them, "L-leave. Now!"**

**Sith then points his sythe at her, "Hey blondie! You almost hit my sister with your fireballs!!"**

**This girl had tear blue eyes, her golden hair going down her back, passed her shoulders. She stood around 5,1 in height, she was fairly skinny with a peach tone with a hint of pale. She wore a light pink, sleeveless shirt, with tight black shorts. She also wore white boots as well. Lastly, she wore long, black fingerless gloves, that went up passed her elbows. Her hands then lit up with fire. She says firmly, "Go now! You shouldn't be here!"**

**Raven's eyes widened when she got a good look at this girl. She then goes in front of Sith and places her hand on his sythe and lowered it, "Woah! Hold on a second."**

**Sith and Zero both look at Raven. The blonde haired girl looked at Raven as well. A little confused at what she was gonna do. Raven then said, "Janice? Is that you?"**

**The girl's eyes widened. She then lowers her hands and steps closer to look at Raven. Her eyes widened as well, "C-Carrie?!!"**

**Raven smiles and nods. Janice then jumps on Raven with a big hug, "Oh my God, oh my God! I can't believe you're here! I thought you were dead!!!"**

**Raven hugs her back, "Well I'm not."**

**They both look at one another smiling. Janice then looks at Sith, "Who--?"**

**She then realized who Sith was. Her jaw dropped, "Is that you, Quinn?! My God, how you've changed!"**

**Sith puts his sythe away and smiles, "Yeah, I've changed a lot."**

**Janice chuckles, "Great, now YOU'RE taller than me now."**

**Sith smirks, "Damn right!"**

**Janice then sees Zero, "And whose this?"**

**As Zero puts away his Naginata, Raven chuckles, "You remember Nash right?"**

**Janice's eyes widened, "Oh my God! I didn't even recognize you!"**

**Zero shrugs and smiles, "It's okay. It's fine."**

**Then there was a voice from above the hill, "Serenity? What's taking so long? Are there enemies or not?"**

**Everyone looks up and sees a strange creature walking down the hill towards them. Everyone's, except Janice, eyes widened. Raven then looks at Janice, "Serenity?"**

**Janice nods, "Yeah, it's the name I go by now."**

**Raven smiles, "Oh."**

**The creature arrives before them. He then looks at everyone and then back at Serenity, "Are these guys giving you a rough time?"**

**Serenity shakes her head, "No. These are our friends!"**

**The creature raises an eyebrow, "Friends? All our friends are dead!"**

**This creature stood 6,2, an inch taller than Zero. His skin was smooth and a dark, greyish purple. His eyes were a cold emptiness of black. He also had giant claws on his hands AND feet. The one thing that got everyone's attiention was his giant wings! They were a dark blueish and stood out, A LOT! They were spiked and sharp looking. He was also fairly muscular too. As for clothes, he only wore ripped, black shorts.**

**Raven then takes a good look at his face. He had fangs and he looked almost scary, well, scary to a **_**normal**_** person anyways. He then catches Raven staring at him. Serenity then says, "Well....these friends survived! They're not dead! See?"**

**The creature shrugs, "Whatever. You were suppose to make me lunch, woman!"**

**Then that was when it hit Raven. She then stepped closer, "John?"**

**The creature then looks at Raven. He stayed silent for a moment. He finally said, "Who wants to know?"**

**Raven then says, "It's me.......Carrie...."**

**The creature's eyes widened, "Carrie?"**

**He then thinks for a moment, as if trying to remember something. He then said again, "Carrie?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah, it's me."**

**The creature then said, "I thought......I thought you died."**

**Raven then said, "So you ARE John!"**

**He then turns his back, "I don't go by that name anymore. I go by Coslotus now."**

**With that, he walked away back up the hill. Raven then looks at Serenity, "Is that really John?!"**

**Serenity nods, "Yeah...."**

**Raven then said, "W-what happened to him?"**

**Serenity looks to the ground sadly, "Well.....when this whole thing began....he was sucked into a gate of some sort...."**

**Raven's eyes widened as she got a flashback of the gate she'd seen three years ago. Serenity then finished, "A few weeks later, he came back looking like he is now.....other than that, I have no idea what happened on the other side."**

**Raven nods, "I see...."**

**Serenity then said, "Where are my manners? Would you guys like to come inside?"**

**Everyone nods. Raven says, "We'd love to."**

**Serenity then lead everyone up the hill. Beside a rotting tree was a fair sized hut. They go inside and see a kitchen-like room, with a table and chairs. Raven, Sith, and Zero sit down. Serenity then put on a kettle, "Tea anyone?"**

**Everyone shakes their heads. Serenity smiles, "Okay."**

**She sits with everyone, "So.......what names do you guys go by now?"**

**Raven replies, "Raven.......Raven Corvinous."**

**Serenity chuckles, "I figured as much."**

**Raven rests her elbow on the table, "Yeah, tell me about it. Nash said the exact same thing."**

**Serenity chuckles as she looks to Sith and Zero, "What about you guys?"**

**Sith then said, "Sith."**

**Then Zero says, "Zero."**

**Serenity nods, "Cool."**

**She then stands up and gets out some food and starts to make a soup of some sort, "Anyone hungry."**

**Sith then said, "We ate before we got here."**

**Serenity then said, "Okay. Just making sure."**

**In the other room, Coslotus was sitting in a meditative state, listening to the whole conversation in the kitchen. His eyes were closed as if asleep. He then opens his eyes and stares out into space, but still keeping his pointed ears open.**

**Zero then said, "Now that we found two more of your friends, where do you think we should look next?"**

**Raven then said, "I don't know, I suggest down town."**

**Coslotus then came in the room, "You're wasting your time. The rest of your friends are probrably dead."**

**Raven's eyes narrowed, "And since when did you get so negative?"**

**Coslotus then said, "Since reality clicked in. I suggest you quit while you were ahead."**

**Raven then said, "Well I won't! I found my brother, I found Nash, and I just found you two!"**

**Coslotus snorted, "Hmf! Pure luck!"**

**When Raven was about to say something, Serenity snapped, "At least she's trying!! What have you done, John?!!"**

**Coslotus' cold eyes turned toward Serenity. He then walked right up to her, so they were face to face. He says calmly, "Didn't I tell you not to call me by that name anymore?"**

**Serenity crosses her arms, sounding a little hurt by his remark, "Not even your own sister?"**

**Coslotus then turns his back, "Nope. Not even my own sister....."**

**Sith then stood up, "What happened to you, dude? You use to be cool when I was growing up. Now you're like dark and stuff."**

**Everyone then looks at Sith after he said that. Sith then said darkly, "You should be grateful you still have your younger sister around! At least she isn't dead! I'm glad I got MY sister! She's all I've got for family! And I'm all she's got!"**

**Coslotus was silent and motionless. He then sighs out of frustration, "Sorry......Janice....."**

**Serenity smiles, "It's okay."**

**Raven looks to Sith and smiles. She pats him on the back. Sith looks and smiles back. Zero didn't say a word. Raven then said, "Back to business. The reason why I'm looking for friends is because I want our race to claim our city back."**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Car-I-I mean Raven.....are you serious? You're gonna go against monsters to claim back our city?"**

**Raven then said, "If I have to.......yes....."**

**Serenity then made a worried look, "I don't like the sound of this."**

**Raven chuckles, "Still the same. Always paranoid."**

**Serenity then said, "At least being paranoid kept me alive."**

**Raven laughs, "How do you think me and Sith survived? It wasn't hiding that's for sure. We fought our way for two and half years straight to survive. And look at us now, sitting before you."**

**Serenity looks down at the table, "Hm..."**

**She then took the kettle off the stove as Raven said, "So what do ya say? Wanna join up with us? Come on Serenity.....Janice.....for once, take a chance."**

**Raven then sticks out her hand, "You with me here?"**

**Sith then puts his hand on Raven's, "I am."**

**Zero looks at the table and then at Raven and Sith. He smiles, "So am I."**

**He then places his hand on Raven's and Sith's. They all looked at Serenity now. She looks back at them. She thinks for a moment. She then sighs and smiles, "Alright.......I'm with you too."**

**She then puts her hand on Raven's, Sith's, and Zero's hand. Raven smiles, "Yes! I knew you'd come through."**

**She then looks to Coslotus, "How about you big guy? Wanna come with us?"**

**Coslotus then looks at everyone. He then walks up to them. He looks at Raven. She smiles, "For old time's sake?"**

**Coslotus sighs and then smirks, "Fine. I guess I'll join."**

**He then puts his hand on top of everyone else's. Raven smiles, "From this day forward, we're officially a team."**


	4. Chapter 3

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Three: Bewitched**_

**The group, now of five, walked towards down town. Sith then said to Raven, "Soo.......you think one of your other friends is in down town?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah, I do."**

**Serenity then said, "How do you know?"**

**Raven then looks to Serenity, "I saw this.....in a vision. It wasn't very clear, but I know someone is there."**

**Zero then said, "You can see visions?"**

**Raven smiles, "Sometimes, but not that often."**

**Zero then said, "So you're like a shaman-psychic woman-person?"**

**Raven laughs, "Sorta, but you get the idea."**

**Raven then looks to Serenity, "Speaking of powers, back there....how did you do that?"**

**Serenity then makes a confused look, "Do what?"**

**Raven then said, "Shoot fire at us. How'd you do it?"**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Oh! I almost forgot. I'm sooo sorry I did that!"**

**Raven sighs, "It's okay. I asked how'd you produce fire, not an apology."**

**Serenity then said, "Oh but still. Anyway, I'm not sure....one day it just happened. I got angry and stuff just caught fire. Then I realized I could control it after some practice."**

**Raven smiles, "That's cool. You're a pyrokenetic."**

**Serenity nods with a smile, "Yup!"**

**They all arrive into the town, where tons of different creatures were seen. Serenity then asked, "Umm.......so....what powers do you guys have?"**

**Raven then said, "I'm a shaman now. So let's just leave it at that."**

**Sith then said, "I'm a soul hunter. I hunt reapers. There, that's my power. I kill reapers."**

**Zero then said, "Well.....I don't really have **_**that**_** much powers. I only know martial arts and a couple of spells and what not."**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Wow. That's really cool."**

**Coslotus finally spoke, "Not that cool."**

**Raven smirks, "I like to see exactly what YOU can do."**

**Coslotus then crosses his arms, "The only time you're allowed to find out is when I fight."**

**Raven then says, "I'd like to see that."**

**Serenity then laughs nervously, "Uhh....guys? Please don't fight."**

**Raven then said, "Don't worry.....we won't....."**

**As Raven walked ahead, she quickly added, "........yet."**

**Coslotus just shrugged, "Hmf!"**

**Zero shakes his head, "Geez.....you're still so violent."**

**Raven shrugs, "Meh, it kept me alive."**

**Raven stops and looks around. Sith then comes up beside her, "What's up? You sense something?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah.....I do."**

**Serenity then said, "What is it?"**

**Raven smiles, "I think our friend is near."**

**Zero then asked, "Where exactly?"**

**Raven points to an alley, "Near there."**

**Sith then said, "Well.....let's go then."**

**They all walked to the alley. They heard murmurs and heavy footsteps. The sound of running. They all walk into the alley and turned the corner. They all saw three big ogres surrounding something. Raven's eyes widened to see it was a girl. Raven then said, "Those guys are trying to get a girl!"**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Well then, let's go help her!"**

**Before anyone went to do anything, the ogres came closer to the girl. The girl huddled, like she was helpless. After the last step, the girl smirks, "Hee...."**

**She then kicks the guy in the face. She began to laugh. She then jumps on all of their heads shouting, "WEEEEEE!!!!"**

**She then knocked every single one of the ogres out. Everyone's eyes widened at the display. Zero then said, "Holy crap!"**

**They all got a good look at the girl. She wore a gothic, knee high dress, with black laced boots. She had her blondish orange hair curled up and done in two pigtails that showed ringlettes. She wore glove-like fish nets on her hands. She wore a black ribbion on her neck and her pigtails. The earrings she wore were hanging down, sparkling silver. She stood around 5,4 in height and had a peach tone. Was also fairly skinny. She smiled and revealed black and red braces.**

**Raven and Zero's eyes both widened. They both shouted at the same time as soon as they realized who it was, "KELLY?!!!!!"**

**The girl's eyes blink and she turns to see the gang watching. She then said, "Oh, I didn't realize anyone was watching. Hee hee!"**

**She then goes in front of them, "You seem familar."**

**Raven then said, "It IS you!!! It's me, Carrie!!"**

**Her eyes widened a little, "Carrie?"**

**Raven nods with a smile. The girl then smiles and then jumps on Raven with a hug, "CARRIE!!!!!!"**

**Raven smiles, "Kelly!!!!"**

**Kelly then looks at her, "I knew you wouldn't die!!"**

**Raven then said, "Same goes for you."**

**She then notices everyone else, "You found other people, Carrie?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah, my brother, Nash, my bestfriend, and her brother!"**

**Kelly looks at each of them, "Wow. You guys changed a lot!"**

**She then looks at Zero. She then bursts out laughing. Zero raises an eyebrow, "What's so funny?"**

**Kelly then points at him, "Your outfit! Whatcha do? Become a monk or something?"**

**Zero's eyes narrowed a bit, "Uhh....nooo. I just learned a little asian fighting, that's all."**

**Kelly then laughs again, "Wow! You became violent too?"**

**Zero then says, "N-no. Just for self defense."**

**She then goes right up to him. She then pokes him, "Poke!"**

**Zero then takes a step back, "W-what the--?"**

**Kelly then smiles, "I just haven't done that in so long."**

**Kelly then looks at Serenity, "JANICE!!!!"**

**She then hugs her. She smiles, "Kelly!!! I missed you!"**

**Kelly smiles, "I missed everyone!!"**

**Raven then filled Kelly in on what she planned to do. She also told her how she found everyone and introduced everyone's new found names.**

**Kelly smiles, "Okay!! I'll join! I'm Hikari now by the way."**

**Everyone, except Coslotus, then smiled at their new recruit, Hikari. Everyone then went to a resturant for lunch. They all grabbed a seat. Serenity then asked, "So.....what have you been doing all this time?"**

**Hikari smiles, "Witchcraft!"**

**Raven then says, "So....you're a witch?"**

**Hikari nods, "Yup!"**

**Raven then said, "Cool! I'm a shaman!"**

**Hikari smiles, "Sweet!"**

**Everyone then ordered their food. While they waited, the rest of the group told Hikari what they were. Zero then says, "I always knew you were destined for evil."**

**Meanwhile.....outside of the country boarder.......**

**A guy wearing a black hoodie jacket is roaming the highways on his own. He didn't know why or where he was going. He stops to see a delivery carriage with dragons, ready for take off. He goes behind it. He then overheard one of the delivery guys say, "This stuff goes to Grimstone."**

**Another guy said, "Didn't that town use to be Brantford?"**

**The other guy said, "Yeah. Tragic."**

**With that, the guy in the hoodie dove in the back as they took off in the direction of Grimstone.**


	5. Chapter 4

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Four: Instinct**_

**After everyone eats lunch, they leave the resturant. Serenity then says, "So....now that we're together, what now?"**

**Raven looks at her, "What do you mean?"**

**Serenity then said, "I-I mean like, are we gonna stick together at all times?"**

**Raven then says, "Not at ALL times."**

**Serenity then says, "Well....shouldn't we?"**

**Raven then says, "Why? All we have to do is name a time and place and we can reunite again."**

**Serenity then says, "Okay......."**

**Hikari then says, "Don't worry Serenity, nothing bad will happen."**

**Serenity then smiles, "Yeah, I guess you're right."**

**Coslotus then says, "She's ALWAYS paranoid."**

**Serenity turns to her brother, "I am not!!"**

**Coslotus then says, "Are too."**

**Sith then says, "Could you not bicker please? It gets quite annoying."**

**Serenity then restrained herself from arguing any further. She then says, "So....where's everyone staying?"**

**Zero then says, "I got my own place."**

**Raven smiles, "And me and Sith are staying with him."**

**Zero smiles, "And what she said."**

**Raven chuckles. Serenity then says, "Okay....I guess that's good. What about you Hikari?"**

**Hikari then says, "Don't worry, I got a little hideout of my own."**

**Serenity then said, "Okay."**

**Coslotus sighs, "Like I said Serenity, you're paranoid. Especially for other people."**

**Serenity then shoots Coslotus a glare. Hikari then says, "Question. What else is there to do?"**

**Zero looks to Raven, "Is there any other friends you want to look for?"**

**Raven then looks to the ground, in deep thought. She then says, "I can only think of one more person."**

**Serenity then says, "One more? Who?"**

**Raven then looks at Serenity, ".....Garret."**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Y-you think he's still alive?"**

**Raven nods. Hikari then says, "Don't worry....he is....."**

**Zero then looks at her, "How do you know?"**

**Hikari smiles, "Me can see the future."**

**Raven smiles, "That'll be useful."**

**Sith then chuckles, "That's funny......Raven can FEEL the future."**

**Hikari smiles, "COOL!!"**

**Raven chuckles. Coslotus shakes his head, "Annoying."**

**They all start to walk. Serenity then says, "Where should we go now?"**

**Raven shrugs, "I dunno."**

**Serenity then says, "H-how do you plan on finding Garret?"**

**Raven smiles, "Luck."**

**Serenity shakes her head, "Still the same old Carrie."**

**Raven then said, "No. Not Carrie.....not anymore. The me you see now is Raven."**

**Serenity then said nothing more. Sith then says, "I'm bored."**

**Hikari says, "Me too."**

**Sith smirks, "I know!"**

**He then puts two fingers in his mouth and lets out a loud whistling sound. A giant cybertooth tiger came flying in their direction. Zero's eyes widened, "W-what the hell is that?"**

**Raven and Sith say in unison, "Our kitty."**

**Zero then says, "Th-that's one big kitty!"**

**Sith smirks, "Don't worry, he's harmless. He only hurts people when we say so."**

**The tiger had very spikey fur and stood 4,2 in height. His fur was mostly black with white on the very tips of his fur. His eyes were a piercing, cold green. He then shoke his fur and came up to Raven and Sith. They both pet him. He begins to purr. Serenity's eyes widened, "Y-you're kitty? Y-you mean.....you mean that's-??"**

**Raven finishes, "That's right, it's Storm."**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "WOW! Wh-what happened to him?? He use to be.......smaller."**

**Raven then said, "The aura of the gate three years ago hit him. Thus.......this."**

**Everyone's eyes are still on the big cat before them. Raven then says, "He's now called Sythe."**

**Sith then says, "Say hello, Sythe."**

**Sythe gives a half purr, half growl and bowed his head. Hikari smiles, "WOW! That's SOO cool!!!!"**

**Hikari jumps up and down, "Can I pet him?"**

**Raven and Sith nod. Hikari then pets him, smiling, "Wow....."**

**Serenity then pets him too. Coslotus just stares at Sythe, not bothering. Raven then looks at Zero, "You can pet him too."**

**Zero then hesitates for a moment, and then finally pets him. He smiles, "This.....this use to be an ordinary cat?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. The black aura mutated him."**

**Zero then says, "Must be nice having a giant cat guardian."**

**Sith smirks, "It is. Especially for reapers."**

**Hikari then says, "Reapers?"**

**Sith pets Sythe more, "You see, he can not only fly and produce electricity, but also can **_**smell**_** reapers. Making him a Reaper Tracker. Helps a lot really."**

**Hikari then says, "Now THAT'S cool!"**

**Raven nods, "It is. And deep down, he's STILL our little Stormie."**

**Hikari says, "Aww....."**

**Coslotus then says, "And how does **_**this**_**.......get rid of boredom?"**

**Sith smirks, "I didn't say it would get rid of the boredom for everyone. It was more like for me."**

**Serenity the says, "How?"**

**Sith smirks, "I'm gonna hunt some reapers!"**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Isn't that dangerous?"**

**Raven laughs, "Not for Sith here. He's a pro at hunting and killing reapers."**

**Sith then hops onto Sythe and gets out his main weapon. He then says, "I'll be back." **

**He then flies off. Hikari then says, "Now I'm even more bored!"**

**Zero then says, "Care for a drink?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah!"**

**They then all head to Brimstone's bar.**

**Meanwhile...........**

**The guy in the hoodie sleeps in the back of the carriage. There was a big stop. He wakes up instantly. He then peeks out and sees no one yet. He jumps out and runs towards the town the was in.**

**He ran behind an alley wall as the guys went to unload the carriage. He breathes heavily from the tension. He then begins to walk the streets. He felt he was searching for something.....but what?**

**He then smells the air and smells the most wonderful scent he's ever smelled. He follows the scent. He could tell it was the scent of a girl, but different from any other. He knew right then, that **_**this**_** was what he was looking for.**

**He follows it, street after street. He then comes across a bar that was called Brimstone's. He stops, sensing a pressence. A pressence so soothing and so welcoming. He then sees a group walking towards his direction. He sees a witch, a blonde, some creature he didn't know what in God's name was, a martial artist, and......and......**

**The last person caught his attiention. A girl with spikey hair. It was HER. **_**She**_** was the thing he was looking for. He then says in a whisper as he knew right then who it was. He murmurs, "Carrie....."**


	6. Chapter 5

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Five: Lost and Found**_

**Raven then walks into the bar with her friends. They each order a drink, except for Coslotus. Raven ordered whiskey, Serenity ordered a mudslide, Hikari ordered a mixed vodka, and Zero of course ordered sake. Raven then looks to Zero, "You're not gonna get drunk are you?"**

**Zero shakes his head, "No. Why? Are you?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "Nah. Too early in the day."**

**Hikari chuckles, "It's just after lunch though."**

**Raven shrugs, "I prefer to drink at night, that's all."**

**Serenity nods, "Well that's good."**

**Raven shrugs again, "I guess."**

**Raven then turns to Zero, "And what about you? Are you still the designated drinker?"**

**Zero chuckles a little, "Yup. Still am. I only get drunk once a year. The same was three years ago."**

**Raven shakes her head, "After what's happened, I'm surprised you **_**haven't**_** got drunk more often."**

**Zero just shrugs, "I learned to deal with it, just differently than others."**

**Hikari then says, "I still haven't seen you drunk."**

**Raven laughs, "It's hilarious!"**

**Ravan was referring to a time her and Zero went to an anime convention together with a few other friends. On the night of their arrival, they all got drunk and had fun. Raven's face is saddened, "Good times...."**

**Zero nods, "Yeah, they were."**

**Coslotus just shakes his head, "No use in thinking of the past. It's over and done with. One should only worry about now."**

**Hikari smiles, "Yeah! We should make new ones!"**

**Raven smiles, "That's actually a good idea."**

**Serenity smiles, "Yeah. Let's make new ones."**

**All of their drinks came. Raven raises her glass, "Everyone raise your glass."**

**Everyone did so. Raven smiles, "A toast. To our old memories and the soon to be new ones. May the past never die and may a future of good be born. To us and our new found team!"**

**Hikari shouts, "Yeah!"**

**Everyone chuckles, except Coslotus who had no glass to begin with, and cheers with their glasses to one another. After doing so, they each take a sip of their drinks. Raven could feel a burning sensation of her whiskey. Hikari laughs, "I wanna get drunk now."**

**Serenity then says, "Uhh......it's in the middle of the day."**

**Hikari laughs, "I know. Just because I want to do something, doesn't mean I will......well.....most of the time."**

**Most of the group chuckled. Raven took another sip, feeling a pinch tipsy, but not enough to be drunk. Zero then takes a sip, "I wish this was warm......tastes sooo much better."**

**Raven shakes her head, "No it doesn't! Cold is waaay better!"**

**Zero chuckles, "To me it does. Although either way they taste good, just warm is better."**

**Raven shrugs, "Oh well. People have different tastebuds."**

**Zero says, "Yup. That is true."**

**Hikari laughs, "I like my tastebuds."**

**They all finish their drinks and walk outside. They start to walk the streets. Raven turns and looks around, "Hm?"**

**Zero looks, "What's the matter?"**

**Raven then says, "Nothing. Thought I sensed something."**

**Zero raises an eyebrow, "Sensed? As in your friend might be near by?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "No, no.....this feels different."**

**Serenity hears, "Different how?"**

**Raven then says, "I......I can't describe it. I can only say it's something I felt before, something familar."**

**Serenity then says, "Wh-what do you think it is?"**

**Raven then says, "If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be standing here wondering would I?"**

**Serenity then says, "Hey. It was only a question."**

**Raven just shakes her head as she walked on ahead, "Just nevermind. Forget it."**

**Meanwhile.......**

**The guy in the hoodie watches from behind the alley wall. He hides as soon as the girl he was following looks. He looks once again as soon as she started walking again along with her friends. **

**He keeps following. He wondered whether or not she would know who he was, like he knew who she was. He didn't know whether or not he should approach her. If so, how for that matter. **

**Back to group...........**

**Raven then stops in her tracks. Serenity then asks, "What now?"**

**Raven then says, "Something's coming."**

**Zero then says, "Like what?"**

**Hikari then says, "It's a monster."**

**Coslotus just stands there observing as Serenity asks, "What kind of monster?"**

**Raven and Hikari both say at the same time, "A troll."**

**Coslotus snorts, "Hmf! It's no threat."**

**Raven then says, "No it isn't. But he wants to fight."**

**Zero then says, "Fight?"**

**Raven nods, "Mhm."**

**Suddenly, everything went silent. Big footsteps were now heard. The air was now filled with a revolting smell. Raven covers her nose, "Good God!"**

**Everyone else does the same. Serenity then says, "Yuck! That stinks!"**

**Coslotus then covers his nose, "I really hate trolls."**

**Hikari and Zero both look at Raven. Raven looks back, knowing what they were thinking. Back to three years ago, when they first encountered a troll.**

**A hideous creature carrying a spikey club turns the corner. It was the troll. Raven's eyes widened, "No way......"**

**It was the exact same troll that had knocked them out three years back. Hikari gasps, "Is that the same troll who--?"**

**Raven nods, "I think it is."**

**Zero then says, "Are you sure?"**

**Raven then says, "Positive."**

**Raven's eyes narrowed in anger, "The same son of a bitch that caused us to wake up in a fucking cell!!!!"**

**Raven then runs at the troll, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!!"**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Raven!! Wait!!"**

**Raven didn't listen. She jumps up and does a round house kick to it's face. He steps back and almost falls from the kick. She lands on her feet and then goes in for a punch into his gut. He fist just sinks into his stomach. Raven's eyes widened, "What the-?"**

**Before Raven could do anything, the troll smirks and slaps her. She goes flying into a wall. Serenity shouts, "RAVEN!"**

**Hikari and Serenity help Raven up. Raven shakes her head, her forehead starts to bleed, "Ow. That hurt like hell!"**

**Serenity yells, "Well of course it did! You just got hit by a troll!"**

**Raven just shoves her aside, "He's mine!"**

**The troll runs at them with his club. Coslotus just crosses his arms and watches. She then unsheathes her sword as everyone runs. Serenity shouts, "RAVEN! GET OUT OF THE WAY!!"**

**Raven didn't listen. Her eyes narrow as she crouches at the ready. The troll gets closer and closer. The troll swings and Raven jumps. She lands on the troll's arm and runs up it. She spins and slashes his arm. He drops his club as his arm was sliced off. Blood sprayed everywhere as the troll roared in pain. Raven lands on her feet and sheathes her katana.**

**She closes her eyes as the troll falls. A big dent was now left in the street. Everyone's jaw dropped. Coslotus then smirks, "Hmf!"**

**The troll then gets back up. Serenity shouts, "It's getting up again!!"**

**Raven then opens her eyes and turns to look at the troll. Her eyes are cold and filled with rage. She then makes a sign with one hand and says something in a different language. She then jumps and points two fingers on the troll's head. A big ring of purple could be seen. The troll freezes and then explodes into pieces along with a big wave of purple aura. Everyone's eyes widened. Zero's jaw drops, "Holy shit!"**

**Raven lands on her feet and smirks, "Hm!"**

**Hikari's face lit up, "WOW! That was cool! Can you do that again?"**

**Serenity then says, "H-how did you do that?"**

**Raven smiles, "It was easy. All you need is to practice the art of the supernatural."**

**Serenity then said, "W-what was that attack?"**

**Raven then says, "In our tongue, it's called the Spirit Wave."**

**Zero then said, "Dare I ask what it does?"**

**Raven chuckles, "You make a sign meaning Heaven. Then you pretty much ask the spirits to borrow thier power. As soon as you touch the enemy, he freezes dead in his tracks and his soul becomes overwhelming to him, causing him to explode."**

**Zero's eyes widened, "Holy shit! Now I know not to piss you off."**

**Raven laughs, "It only works on evil. So no need to worry."**

**Zero then says, "But still. Shit!"**

**Hikari smiles, "That was cool!"**

**Coslotus then says, "Not bad. For an amateur."**

**Raven's eyes narrow, "Shut up. That's all I'm gonna say."**

**Raven's eyes widened and she turns the other way. She felt that same aura again, only closer. **

**Meanwhile........**

**The guy in the hoodie watches the troll get slain. He whispers, "Wow...."**

**He smiles and without thinking, comes out from hiding, "Hey. That was an awesome trick!"**

**Raven sees the guy in the hoodie. Her eyes widened. She smiles as she right away knew who it was. She then says, "Steve....."**

**The guy in the hoodie's eyes widened. He then says, "Y-you know who I am?"**

**Raven smiles, "How could I not?"**

**Raven jumps on Steve with a hug. Steve hugs back. Raven then says, "Damn! It's good to finally see you in person."**

**Steve then says as he removes his hood, "Yeah. Finally."**

**Steve was fairly large in height and width. He also had short black hair under his hoodie. **

**They look at one another smiling. Everyone raises an eyebrow, confused. Zero then says, "Uhh.....did I miss something here?"**

**Serenity then says, "Raven, do you know this guy?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah......you could say that."**

**Serenity then says, "Mind introducing him to us?"**

**Raven laughs, "You know my online friend I told you guys about? The one I talked to for 4 years?"**

**Everyone nods. Raven then says, "This is him. Everyone, meet Steve."**

**Steve laughs, "Well......you guys can call me Evan."**

**Raven chuckles, "Sorry, Evan."**

**Raven then introduces Evan to everyone. He nods, "Hey."**

**Coslotus then says, "I'm curious as to how you **_**knew**_** it was him."**

**Raven then says, "I guess you could say we're linked. That's the only way I can explain it."**

**Serenity then says, "Linked? Uhh......I'm not gonna ask."**

**Raven then says, "Good. Saves me some explaining."**

**Evan chuckles, "Well.....this is a little awkward."**

**Raven then says, "Don't worry. Sometimes it does at first."**

**Evan scratches the back of his head and smiles. Raven then says, "So.....how'd you get here?"**

**Evan then says, "Uhh.....to be honest? I'm not sure why. Something lead me here. I drifted for a while, searching for something I didn't know or knew why. Then I realized today it was you I was looking for. I stowed away on a delivery carriage to get here."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Holy. Heh heh......well....I'm glad you found me."**

**Evan smiles, "So am I."**

**Raven then says, "Now that you're here, wanna join our group?"**

**Evan then said with no hesitation, "Sure! I'll go with yas."**

**Raven then explains what she intends to do. She explains about everyone's power and profession and the event three years ago. Evan listens to every word, "Ha. That's funny. The exact same thing happened to me at my work."**

**Raven chuckles, "Yeah. Weird isn't it?"**

**Evan nods, "Very."**

**Raven then says, "Come on, let's go."**

**The group begins to walk. Hikari shouts, "YAY! Our group is growing!"**

**Raven nods, "Yes. It is!"**

**Evan laughs at Hikari's randomness. Raven then says, "I guess you have nowhere to stay?"**

**Evan shakes his head, "Nada."**

**Raven then looks to Zero, "Can he stay at your place? With us? I know you don't know him that well....but--"**

**Zero cuts her off, "Yeah."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Come again."**

**Zero smiles, "I said yeah. Why not?"**

**Raven glomps Zero, "You're the best! You're the best! You're the best!"**

**Zero laughs as he hugs her back, "We can all play some PS3 tonight."**

**Evan's eyes widened, "You have a PS3?"**

**Zero nods, "Yup."**

**Evan then asks, "What games do you have?"**

**Zero then says, "Let's see......Dead Space, Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty World at War, Guitar Hero Metallica, Guitar Hero's Greatest Hits, Kill Zone 2, and a few others."**

**Evan smiles with a nod, "Nice."**

**They all walk a little further. Evan then whispers to Raven, "Are you sure it's okay to stay with you and your friend?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. It's quite alright."**

**Evan then said, "Okay....I-I don't want to intrude or anything like that."**

**Raven laughs, "Don't worry, Zero's a good guy. Wait stratch that, he's a GREAT guy!"**

**She says that loud on purpose. Zero looks back and Raven smiles at him. Everyone laughs at Zero's expression. Zero then laughed as well while he shakes his head.**

**Serenity then says, "So.....what's your profession?"**

**Evan then says, "I'm a....uh.....demon hunter."**

**Serenity nods, "Cool."**

**Raven could tell he was leaving something out, but left it for later. They walk further and further. They all stop as they heard big heavy footsteps, running. Zero then looks around, "What now?"**

**Hikari then says, "Sounds like a stampede!!"**

**They all look behind themselves and sees a bunch of giagantic creatures, running. They saw they were running from a swarm of harpies. Screeching was heard as well. Everyone's eyes widened. Raven shouts, "RUN!!!"**

**They all turn and run as the stampede was gaining on them. They run, but get caught in the crowd, causing them to separate. The harpies catch up and kill some of the creatures running. Raven looks to see a harpy try to grab her. Raven growls and gets her sword out, slicing it in two.**

**As Zero was running, a harpy tried to attack him. His eyes widened as he jumps back, "Oh shit!"**

**He then kicks it in the face and gets out his Naginata. He then uses it to slice the harpy in the head. The harpy falls dead. He looks around, "Time to find the others...."**

**He then runs into the crowd, searching for the others.**

**Hikari runs and sees two harpies. She stops and smiles, "KIKI!!!"**

**A broomstick appears in her hands and she begins to whack the harpies in the head. They both go flying and hit a wall. She laughs, "Ha ha!!"**

**Hikari then runs with the crowd.**

**Serenity runs and gets hit and falls. She screams. She looks up and sees a harpy. Out of reaction, she sticks her hands out and shoots fire. She burns the harpy and she runs away.**

**Coslotus runs and then stops to see three harpies after him. His eyes glow and he growls monstrous. He then sticks out his wings and stabs two of the harpies. He then punches the last one in the face and knocks it out. He then turns to see Serenity. He runs and grabs her hand to lead her away.**

**Evan looks around. He shouts, "Raven!!"**

**He gets hit by a harpy. He gets up and snaps out of it. He then runs away from it, "Fuck this!!"**

**He then turns as a big sword appears in his hands. He swings, but the harpy dodges. His eyes widened as he goes to swing again, but the harpy dodges again. Evan then gets mad and hits it in the head, making it's head fly.**

**Zero sees Hikari and runs to her, "Where're the others?"**

**Hikari shrugs, "I dunno!"**

**They run with the crowd and see Serenity and Coslotus. Hikari and Zero run beside them. Zero then says, "There's 4, now we need to find the other two."**

**Evan runs and sees the others, "There you guys are!!"**

**They all run together and turn to a street where there was no commotion. They all pant. Zero then says sarcastically, "Well......that was epic."**

**Hikari laughs, "And fun!"**

**Serenity then says, "Wait a minute. Where's Raven?"**

**Raven is running straight ahead, searching for her friends. She stops in the middle of the road. She turns and sees big, bright lights heading her way. It was a giant truck-like vehicle coming at her. She screams as it was gonna hit her.**


	7. Chapter 6

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Six: Death and Elements**_

**A guy with spikish, dirty blonde hair, with a black cap was chasing something. He wore baggy, blue jeans with a black, ripped sleeved shirt. Over the shirt was a a ripped, jeaned vest. He also wore greyish running shoes and fingerless, biker gloves. **

**He still kept on running. He was chasing a banshee. It screamed as it turned a corner. The guy stops and looks around, as it was now gone, "Shit!"**

**This guy also stood 5,7 tall. He was fairly built for his size, nice tone of peach to his skin. He adjusts his hat as he looks around for the banshee. The guy's eyes were an icy blue, cold and somewhat sharp.**

**The banshee then comes out of hiding and flies at the guy in full speed, screaming. The guy turns around and sticks his hands out and mutters something under his breath. Water then came from his hands, mixed with cold wind, making ice. It blasts the banshee by surprise. It screams as it fades. It was never seen. The banshee was disposed of.**

**The guy smirks, "Hm. That takes care of that."**

**A woman comes running. She had a spanish accent, "Oh! Mr. Pheonix! Thank you for your help! You got rid of the creature terrorizing our neighbourhood. Thank you! Thank you!"**

**The guy laughs and tips his hat, "You're very welcome. And please.......just Pheonix."**

**The woman bows her head and gives Pheonix a small bag of gold. He puts it in his pocket, "Thanks. And if you ever need help again, give me a call."**

**The woman bows, "Most definately!"**

**Pheonix then tips his hat one last time and goes on his way. He then goes to a big blue jeep with black armour on the hood and back. Silver spikes were on the wheels and a shield-like thing was attached to the very front. He rubs his vehicle as he whispers to himself, "......the only thing I got left of my old life..."**

**He then sighs as he opens the door and goes inside. He puts his seatbelt on and starts up his jeep. He sighs and is now sad as he thought about his past. He then starts to drive down the street.**

**He then sees the banshee in front of his jeep. His eyes widened, "What the hell?!"**

**It turned out the banshee wasn't vanquished, only startled. He then goes to high gear and goes at full speed to chase the banshee. He grips his steering wheel as he goes faster.**

**The banshee stops in it's tracks and smirks. As he went to go through it, it faded and a girl with spikey hair was seen. His eyes widened as he went to hit the brakes, "HOLY SHIT!!!!"**

**Raven covers herself with her arms as the jeep was going to hit her. She screams loudly, "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"**

**As Pheonix went to hit the brakes, a big creature goes in front of his jeep, roaring. It grabs both ends of the jeep and pushes it back with force. As the jeep finally stops, the creature lets go.**

**Raven looked to see Coslotus had saved her. Her eyes widened.**

**Pheonix jumps out of the jeep. He took off his hat with panic, "Holy shit! Holy shit! I'm soo sorry! I seriously didn't see you!!! Oh my God!!!"**

**Raven found herself on the ground. Coslotus then turns and looks down at her. He holds his hand out to her. Raven grabs it as he helps her up. Raven then says, "Th-thank you...."**

**Coslotus then says, "Don't mention it."**

**He then looks back at Pheonix, glaring at him. He then shows him his claws, "Would you like to see these?!"**

**Pheonix backs up a bit, "I-I said I was sorry!!"**

**Raven then looks to see the others running to her. Serenity runs to her first, "Raven!! Are you okay?!"**

**Raven then says, "I'm fine. How'd you find me?"**

**Serenity then says, "Coslotus heard you scream and ran to you."**

**Raven's eyes widened as she then looks to Coslotus, still glaring at Pheonix. Coslotus growls at Pheonix, "I suggest you get out of here!! Before somone really DOES get hurt!!!"**

**Pheonix then says, "Hey, I apologized and I meant it!! I'll even pay!"**

**Coslotus growls, "Oh, you'll pay alright!!"**

**Raven's voice was heard, "Garret?"**

**Coslotus then looks to Raven as Pheonix did was well. Raven then walks right up to Pheonix, "Is that really you?"**

**Pheonix then gets a good look at Raven. His eyes widened as his jaw drops, "Oh my god!!! Carrie?!!!"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah....it's me."**

**Without thinking, Pheonix jumps on Raven with a hug. He lifts her up in the air, "Oh my god!!! I thought I lost you!!! I can't believe it's you!!!!!"**

**Raven smiles and chuckles, "Yeah......I thought the same for you."**

**Pheonix finally puts Raven down on her feet. He chuckles nervously, "Who'd thought my insane driving would cause me to find you."**

**Raven chuckles and nods, "Yeah."**

**Pheonix then looks at everyone, "I'm guessing these are friends of yours?"**

**Raven looks to the group and nods, "Yup. The best."**

**Pheonix then says as he looks to Coslotus, "No doubt over protective."**

**Raven laughs, "Sometimes."**

**Raven then introduces Pheonix to everyone. Pheonix's eyes widened after Raven introduced Serenity, "Oh my God! Janice? Is that really you?! You look good! I barely recognized you!"**

**Serenity rubs the back of her head, "Heh heh, thanks. It's good to see you too."**

**Raven then introduces Pheonix to Evan. Pheonix nods, "Nice to meet you."**

**Evan nods as well, "You too."**

**Raven then asks, "Okay, that's everyone."**

**Raven then turns to Pheonix, "So....uh.....how you've been?"**

**He shrugs, "Not bad. I changed my name to Pheonix and became an elementalist that exterminates monsters for people's safety. How about you?"**

**Raven nods, "I changed my name to Raven. I became a shaman that can fight, heh heh."**

**Pheonix smiles, "Cool. You'll have to show me sometime."**

**He then looks to everyone else, "So.....what can your friends do?"**

**Raven explains everyone's profession and power. She then tells him what she intended to do and how she found everyone in the the first place. Raven then finishes, "So....will you join us?"**

**Pheonix smiles, "Of course I will! I never refused you before have I?"**

**Raven shakes her head and laughs, "No....you haven't."**

**Hikari runs to Pheonix's jeep, "COOL!!! What's this thing?"**

**Pheonix looks and smiles, "That's my old jeep. I customized it to help me kick some ass and get around faster."**

**Hikari jumps up and down, "COOL!!! Can we all ride in it?!!"**

**Pheonix looks to Raven, "Sure. Everyone hop on in."**

**Hikari shouts, "YAY!!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "You mean.....that's your old jeep? The one you use to drive me in?"**

**Pheonix nods, "Yup! Isn't it awesome?"**

**Raven smiles, "Are you kidding?! It's cool looking!!"**

**Raven runs to the jeep, "SHOT GUN!!"**

**Zero runs, "Dammit!! I wanted shotgun!"**

**Raven laughs, "Too bad!"**

**She then sticks her tongue out at Zero. **

**She jumps in the front seat as Pheonix jumps into the driver's seat. Hikari goes in the back, followed by Serenity and Zero. There were extra seats in the very back, so Evan took one of those. As Coslotus went to get in, he couldn't cause of his wings. Pheonix then says, "Crap. There's no room....uhh.....you can hop on the roof?"**

**Coslotus growls as he hops onto the roof. As they all close the doors, Coslotus sits down and crosses his legs. As he went to cross his arms, he digs his wings into the roof to get a better grip. One wing almost hit Hikari. She sticks her head out the window, "Hey!! Watch it!! You almost hit me!!"**

**Pheonix's eyes widened, "AHHH!!! My roof!! I just got that fixed!"**

**Raven sighs, "Just drive."**

**Pheonix does so, "But....my roof."**

**Evan laughs, "Instead of being a shoe in.........there's being a **_**wing**_** in!"**

**Hikari laughs, "That's awesome!!!! I'm gonna remember that!!"**

**Serenity chuckles as Zero shakes his head, "Some people have the weirdest sense of humor."**

**Raven laughs a bit. Pheonix then says, "You thought that was funny?!"**

**Raven says, "Yeah, why not?"**

**Pheonix shakes his head as he sighs, "Where to?"**

**Raven thinks for a moment. She then says, "Let's find my brother first."**

**Pheonix nods, "Alright. Where do you think he is?"**

**Raven smirks, "At the Reaper capital! Hollow's End."**

**Pheonix's eyes widened, "You're joking right?"**

**Raven leans in closer and makes a serious expression, "Do I look like I'm joking?"**

**Pheonix then says, "Alright....."**

**He then turns and starts to head towards Hollow's End. Serenity then says, "A-are you sure it's safe there?"**

**Hikari laughs, "Of course it isn't. That's why it's the Reaper Capital!"**

**Serenity then looks to the floor, "Man........I figured as much."**

**Zero keeps looking out the window. He then looks to the front, "So.....let me get this straight. Your brother goes to Hollow's End to kill Reapers?"**

**Raven nods, "That's right."**

**Zero leans back, "Good God."**

**Evan then says, "Uhh......what's Hollow's End?"**

**Hikari then says, "You haven't been there?"**

**Evan then says, "Uhh....no. I'm not from around here."**

**Hikari then says, "Oh. OH yeah! Heh heh, sorry."**

**Hikari then says as she looks back at Evan, "Okay. Hollow's End is the biggest graveyard in all of Grimstone. Thus, the name of the city. Ghosts, zombies, and Reapers hang out there. Sometimes you can find rogue vampires and werewolves and other dark creatures. Sometimes witches are found there too."**

**Zero's eyes widened, "H-how do you know that? Oh....I know. You're one of the evil witches seen there right?"**

**Hikari then says, "Shut up! I'm being serious this time!"**

**Serenity looks to the floor, lacing her fingers together. She was starting to get nervous. Hikari smiles, "Don't worry.....nothing's gonna happen."**

**Serenity then looks, "I hope so."**

**Evan then sits back in his seat, in deep thought. He too began to feel a pinch nervous. Pheonix makes another turn and everything outside was looking misty and different. They were leaving down town and headed passed the forest area.**

**Coslotus looks around. He calls, "Where're we going?"**

**Raven pokes her head out the window, "Hollow's End!"**

**She then sticks her head back in as Coslotus looks ahead. The trees began to look black and rotten. Raven then says, "We're close."**

**Hikari nods, "Yeah. I can feel it."**

**Raven then says, "So can I."**

**Ahead, a HUGE graveyard was seen. Everyone looks. It was misty and dark-like. Everything began to get cold. Zero covers himself, "Holy shit! Turn on the heater!"**

**Pheonix does so. He then says, "How long are we gonna take?"**

**Raven then says, "Not long."**

**Pheonix nods, "Good. This is waaay too dangerous!"**

**Raven looks at Pheonix with an evil smirk, "Good."**

**He then stops the jeep as soon as a black, fenced gate was seen. Raven was the first to get out. Serenity then says, "I'm staying here."**

**Hikari smiles, "Okay, I'm going."**

**She then hops out of the jeep and goes to Raven. Zero then gets out as well. He sighs, "Might as well."**

**He then joins Raven and Hikari. Evan gets out as well, "I'll go too."**

**Pheonix sighs, "I'll stay with Serenity."**

**Raven nods, "Okay....we'll be back."**

**She then looks up on the very top of the jeep, "You coming Coslotus?"**

**Coslotus then says, "Why bother? It's not my brother."**

**Raven sighs and shakes her head, "Fine."**

**She then says to the others, "Let's go then."**

**They all walk up to the rusty, black fence. Raven touches it and feels a great aura coming from the inside. She then slowly opens the gate. It creeks open as Raven steps in. Hikari, Evan, and Zero follow. They all start to walk. Gravestones and rotting trees could be seen everywhere. The ground was covered in fog while the air was covered in mist.**

**They walk further and further until Raven stops. Evan goes beside her, "What is it?"**

**Raven whispers, "Don't......move....."**

**Everyone doesn't move. Hikari whispers, "A Reaper is near by...."**

**Zero gets out his Naginata. Raven looks back, "That's not gonna help."**

**As Evan went to say something, a roar was heard. They all freeze in their tracks. They all saw something in the mist move. Zero then says, "What was that?"**

**Raven then says, "Be quiet!"**

**They all do so. Footsteps were heard. Slow and deep paced. Raven's heart began to race a little. She puts her hand on her katana. She whispers, "That's no Reaper....."**

**The same figure in the mist was seen again. Hikari points, "There."**

**Raven looks. Evan whispers, "We should be getting out of here."**

**Raven whispers back, "Not without my brother."**

**The roar was heard again. Zero jumps, "Holy shit!"**

**He goes closer to Raven. He whispers, "This is fucking freaking me out!"**

**Raven then says, "Don't be scared."**

**Zero's eyes widened, "Uhh....it's hard not to!"**

**Raven then looks right at Zero, "It can sense your fear."**

**Zero's eyes widened more, "It?"**

**Hikari then says, "It's an animal of some sort."**

**Evan then says, "What kind of animal?"**

**Zero then says nervously, "The kind that eats flesh."**

**Raven whispers angrily, "Shut the fuck up!!"**

**The roar was heard again. Raven then says, "It's trying to decieve us. Making us think it surrounded us."**

**The roar was heard again. Everyone gasps and huddles together. Yellow eyes were seen gleaming in the mist. It then jumps out with a huge roar. Everyone screams and hugs onto Raven as she gasps with her eyes widened at what the creature was.**


	8. Chapter 7

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Seven: Through a Reaper's Eyes**_

**As soon as the creature jumped at the group, Raven dove onto the creature and flew into the mist. Everyone's eyes widened as Evan shouted, "Raven!!"**

**Raven was nowhere to be seen, all that was heard was struggling and snarling.**

**Raven, on the otherside of the mist, was fending off the creature that was now on top of her. She had her arm at it's throat, preventing it from biting her. This creature was very canine-like with reddish, grey fur, spiked out and messy. It had yellow eyes that glew red when very angered. Fangs were huge and a blackish shade with a hint of grey, almost like black silver. Almost wolf-like in appearence and size. It drools, almost along Raven's face. Raven growls, "I HATE Hellhounds!!"**

**She then kicks it off of her and slices it with her katana. It splits in half as it hit the ground. The group came running in her direction. Zero looks at the dead animal, "What in hell is that??"**

**Raven wipes the blood from her katana, "That was a Hellhound. Nasty creatures, almost as bad as werewolves."**

**Evan flinched a little at the word **_**werewolves.**_** Raven then sheathes her katana, "Now, let's go find Sith."**

**Raven walks on ahead as the rest follow. They walk deeper into the mist as more gravestones and rotting trees were seen. Raven stops and squats down, touching the ground with her hand.**

**Evan then said, "What are you doing?"**

**Raven then says, "A good way of tracking is feeling the ground....or looking at it."**

**What Raven was touching was a huge paw print. Hikari looks, "What do you suppose made that?"**

**Raven then says, "It was made by Sythe, no mistaking it."**

**Raven stands, "They should've came this way, by the looks of the print, not long ago."**

**Zero then says, "Shouldn't we keep moving?"**

**Everyone nods and then moves on ahead. Raven looks around and smells the air. Misty and almost vile. The smell of fresh death was in the air. Evan then says, "Uhh.....how much longer do we need to be here?"**

**Raven then says, "As long as it takes."**

**Just then, a loud howl was heard. Zero and Evan jump a little, but Hikari and Raven remain calm. Hikari smiles, "It's just a wolf."**

**Zero then said, "Yeah, how far is it from us?"**

**Hikari smiles, "By the loudness, I'd say around a few yards."**

**Zero grips his Naginata, "Shit!"**

**A growl was then heard. Everyone looks around. Zero then says, "What the hell was that?"**

**Everyone huddles together again. Raven then closes her eyes. She then said, "Relax..."**

**Zero then says, "How can I? Last time you told me that, a Hellhound jumped at us."**

**Raven opens her eyes and smiles, "It's just Sythe."**

**Sythe comes out from the mist and shakes his fur out. Raven pets him, "Hey there."**

**Hikari pets him, "I LOVE this kitty!"**

**Evan walks closer to Sythe to get a good look at him, "This guy's kinda cool."**

**Raven smiles, "He's quite the companion, I'll say that."**

**Raven then looks into Sythe's eyes, "Where's Sith?"**

**Sythe turns around and starts to walk back to where he came from. Everyone followed. **

**Sythe stops and sits right beside a gravestone. Raven looks to see Sith finishing off a Reaper. He slices it with his sythe for the finishing blow. A big wave and greyish black aura came from Sith's weapon. The aura grew larger as soon as the Reaper was demolished. It then sucks itself back into the sythe. The aura then surges into Sith's arm and then into his entire body. He floats in the air as he's absorbing the Reaper's energy. His eyes went pure black and he began to explode with power. He roared demonically.**

**Everyone's eyes widened, except for Raven's, as they all watched the display.**

**The power then sucked itself back into Sith and he drops to the ground, landing on his feet. His body began to steam. He raises himself up. As soon as he sees everybody, he smirks. His eyes faded into his normal colour, "Man that felt good!"**

**He then puts his sythe on his back. He walks up to Raven, acting like nothing happened, "Hey sis."**

**Raven smiles, "Hey. Get a good work out?"**

**Sith smirks, "Oh yeah."**

**Zero then says, "Woah, woah! What was that all about? What did you just do?"**

**Hikari smiles, "Yeah. That was cool."**

**Sith then looks at everyone, "Oh. That's how I absorb Reaper's energy. Their power adds to mine, making me stronger and stronger everytime."**

**Hikari jumps up and down, "COOL!! DO IT AGAIN!!"**

**Sith then notices Evan, "Who's he?"**

**Raven then says, "Sith, this is my friend, Evan."**

**She then looks at Evan, "Evan, meet my brother Sith."**

**Sith smiles as he sticks out his hand, "Any friend of Raven's is cool in my book."**

**Evan then takes Sith's hand and shakes it. He chuckles, "Well it's nice to meet you too."**

**Evan then noticed Sith's grip. It was tight and strong. Sith and Evan finally let go. Evan shakes his hand out a little, "Woah, you got a strong grip there."**

**Sith smirks, "That's what everyone says when they shake my hand."**

**Evan takes a good look at Sith. Not only was his grip strong, but he also looked the part. Evan then asks, "How old are you?"**

**Sith answers, "Fifteen."**

**Evan then says, "Wow. How long have you been hunting Reapers?"**

**Sith smirks, "I started when I was thirteen years old."**

**Evan's eyes widened a bit, "Woah, that's pretty young."**

**Sith just shrugs, "Oh well, who cares?"**

**He then looks to Raven, "So are we gonna go?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah, let's go."**

**They all began to walk back to the jeep. Hikari then says, "Hey Sith. Do gain any Reaper powers if you absorb them?"**

**Sith nods, "Yeah."**

**Hikari's eyes widened with interest, "Cool. What ones?"**

**Sith then says, "Well, first of all. I can see how much all of your souls are worth."**

**Zero's eyes widened, "You can see our souls right now?"**

**Sith nods, "Yup!"**

**Hikari jumps in excitement, "How much is my soul worth?"**

**Sith then gets a good look at her. He then smirks and begins to laugh, "You're only worth fourty Reaper kills."**

**Hikari became confused, "What's that mean?"**

**Sith laughs, "Okay, there are 100 levels of bounty on a soul. Yours is worth fourty out of 100."**

**Hikari smiles, "Sweet!!"**

**Sith then says, "I only know of one exception though. One soul that goes above the bounty limit. Almost priceless some might say."**

**Hikari then asks, "Who?"**

**Sith's eyes then go on Raven. Everyone then looks at her. Hikari asks, "Her? Why?"**

**Sith then says, "She's a link to the real world and the dead world. She has supernatural powers and strength. She's seen things that no one would understand and has been to places where no human has set foot on. She's walks between the living and the dead."**

**Hikari's eyes widened, "Woah. That's sick."**

**Evan then looks at Raven, now curious as to what she's been up to and what she's gone through. He then says, "What's my soul worth?"**

**Sith then looks at Evan. He smirks, "Hm. You're worth almost as much as Raven."**

**Evan then says, "What does that mean?"**

**Sith chuckles, "It means you're similar to her in a way."**

**With that, Raven and Evan both look at one another. Hikari jumps up and down, "Do Zero's! Do Zero's!!"**

**Sith looks at Zero. He smiles, "Not bad."**

**Zero then says, "What?"**

**Sith then says, "You're worth 90."**

**Zero's eyes widened, "Is....that good?"**

**Sith laughs, "No. The more a soul is worth, the more it attracts Reapers. Yours is worth that much because you're such a goody goody."**

**Hikari starts to laugh, "Ha. He called you goody goody."**

**Zero then says, "I'm not that much of a goody goody."**

**Raven sighs, "What Sith means to say is that Zero's soul is pure, has no dark boundries in it whatsoever. That's why he's worth that much."**

**Hikari then says, "What about you? I know your soul isn't THAT pure."**

**Sith then says, "The souls that are worth beyond boundries is usually the ones that are the most impure, stained, or dark."**

**Zero then looks at Raven, "So you're more evil than Hikari??"**

**Raven shakes her head, "With me, it has nothing to do with evil."**

**Evan then says, "Then what does?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "Forget about it. Let's just get back to the jeep."**

**Hikari then looks to Sith, "What else can you do?"**

**Sith smirks, "I can take the souls of others......if I wanted to. I don't usually do that."**

**Hikari then says, "That's amazing!"**

**Sith then stops, "Everyone, don't move."**

**Everyone stops and does so. Hikari then says, "I sense a dark pressence."**

**Sythe then growls. Sith smirks, "Another Reaper."**

**A black, shadowy, cloaked figure appears before them all. A hood was covering its face. Sith smirks, "Come to avenge your little friend I just slaughtered?"**

**The Reaper shakes his head. It speaks in a scratchy, deep voice, **_**"No. I simply came for all of you...."**_

**Sith then takes his sythe out, "Come and get them then."**

**The Reaper smirks, **_**"Foolish boy, but I like that. You're powerful and bold."**_

**Evan then shakes a little, "So **_**this**_** is a Reaper........it looks different from the ones I've seen."**

**Sith smirks, "There are different types of Reapers. The ones I hunt are mostly Grave Reapers."**

**The Reaper floats closer, **_**"So, boy. You have the eyes of our kind? Very rare for a mortal. No matter.....you're next on my list!!"**_

**Sith smirks, "Not likely. As for being mortal.....pretty soon I won't be any longer!!"**

**He then growls demonically and his eyes go cold and pure black. He raises his sythe in the air, ready to strike. Sith then leaps up in the air and slices him. The Reaper yells, **_**"NO! WHAT IS THIS??"**_

**Sith says demonically, "That's you being absorbed into me!!"**

**He then gets sucked into the sythe, like the other Reaper from before. Sith then absorbs it and arches back and smirks. He explodes with power again and then sucks back into himself. Sith smirks, "I feel sooo alive!!!"**

**Zero then says, "That was freaky. I think Sith might be more insane than you are, Raven."**

**Raven just crossed her arms and smirks, "That's one reason why our reputation is big in our town."**

**Raven then walks ahead. Sith follows along with everyone else. Evan then says, "Wow. That Reaper only took one hit and he was done."**

**Raven smirks, "That's Sith for ya."**

**Sith's eyes were still cold black. Hikari then asks, "What's with his eyes?"**

**Raven then says, "If he absorbs Reapers within ten minutes, they stay like that for an hour or so."**

**Zero then asks, "Why?"**

**Raven looks to the ground, "I rather not talk about that."**

**Evan then goes up beside Raven, "Why not?"**

**Raven then looks at him, "Too dangerous....."**

**They finally get back to the jeep. Pheonix gets out, "What took you guys so long?"**

**Raven then says, "Reaper business."**

**Serenity looks outside, "Is everything okay?"**

**Raven nods, "Everything's fine."**

**Raven then goes into the front passager seat. Everyone else then goes into the jeep. Serenity then got a glimpse of Sith's eyes. She gasps, "What happened??"**

**Raven sighs, "Don't worry about it."**

**Pheonix then starts to car and drives away from Hollow's End. Serenity then says, "Now I'm worried even more."**

**Sith then says darkly, "It's just a side effect, so drop it!"**

**Serenity then looks at Sith and then to the floor of the vehicle. Raven then says, "Sith.....that wasn't very nice."**

**Sith replies, "So? It's none of her damn business!"**

**As Raven went to say something, Serenity says, "It's okay. He's right. It is none of my business."**

**It was starting to get dark out. Zero sighs, "I say we call it a night."**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. Enough's happened today."**

**Pheonix then says, "Okay. I'll drive you all home."**

**Raven then smiles at Pheonix, "Thanks."**

**Pheonix then gives Raven a soft smile. He then gasps when he sees Raven's arm bleeding, "Raven, you're bleeding."**

**Raven then covers it, "Just a scratch."**

**Serenity then says, "Let me see."**

**Raven then says, "No.......leave it be....."**

**Hikari gets dropped off at her home first. She waves, "Bye"**

**Everyone waves and says their goodbyes. Raven then says, "Remember, be up at noon."**

**Hikari nods, "Okay. I will."**

**Pheonix then drives off and starts to head towards Serenity's and Coslotus' home next. They all had agreed to be up at noon and Pheonix would pick them up. Then, they were gonna discuss what they were gonna do next.**

**Pheonix arrives at Galileo Blvd. Serenity gets out and Coslotus finally jumps off the roof. **

**They wave as Pheonix drives away.**

**After Raven, Sith, Zero, and Evan were dropped off, Pheonix says his goodbyes and drives off to his home. Everyone then goes inside Zero's home.**

**After a long day, Raven plops onto Zero's couch. Zero then says, "Are you okay?"**

**Raven then says, "I'm fine. Just a long day."**

**Zero then sits in his comfy chair, "Yeah. We all did."**

**The first thing Sith did was run to the PS3. He began to play Call of Duty World at War. Evan sits in a chair. He looks to Raven's wound, "How'd you get that scratch anyways?"**

**Raven looks at her arm, "Hellhound I guess. Who cares?"**

**She then puts her hand on it. It turns blue and fades. She then closes her eyes and rests, although she wasn't asleep.**


	9. Chapter 8

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Eight: Dawning Nightmares**_

**Zero went into the kitchen and started to make some food. He then says, "What do you guys want for supper?"**

**Raven opens her eyes, "What do ya got?"**

**Zero looks in his cuboards, "I have macaroni, soup, instant noodles, and some other stuff. I really need to go grocery shopping."**

**Zero then looks in his freezer, "I also have chicken, fish, and microwave stuff."**

**Raven then says, "What do you got for microwave stuff?"**

**Zero then says, "I got ravioli, t.v dinners, and some oriential meals."**

**Raven then says, "I'll take a t.v dinner."**

**Zero then looks to Evan and Sith, "How bout you guys?"**

**Sith was glued to the game. He says, "Whatever Raven has."**

**Evan replies, "Same."**

**Zero nods, "Okay."**

**He then gets out four t.v dinners and puts one in the microwave.**

**Zero then says, "Anyone want a drink?"**

**Raven raises her hand, "Right here. I am thirsty as hell!"**

**Zero then looks to Evan and Sith, "And you guys?"**

**Sith just mutters, "Yeah."**

**Evan nods, "Yes please."**

**Zero then asks, "What do you guys want?"**

**Raven then says, "You got any Coke?"**

**Evan then looks to Raven and smiles, "Raven, drugs aren't considered a drink."**

**Raven looks to Evan. She smiles and shakes her head, "You know I meant the pop."**

**Evan smirks, "How do I know? I can't read minds."**

**Raven just chuckles and shakes her head. Zero chuckles, "Yeah, I have some Coke."**

**Evan begins to laugh a little. Sith then says, "I'll have Coke too."**

**Evan then says, "I didn't know all of yas were drug addicts."**

**Raven laughs and says sarcastically, "Yeah, we are all drug addicts."**

**Evan smiles, "I'm only kidding. I'll have some too."**

**Raven smirks, "In this world, you're gonna need the drugs."**

**Evan and Raven begin to chuckle. Zero then comes in with four red cans of pop. He gives one to Raven, another to Evan, and another to Sith. The last one he kept for himself. He sat down and opened it. He then took a big gulp. Zero then says, "Man, that's refreshing."**

**Raven opens hers and drinks it, "You're telling me."**

**Evan begins to sip his. A beep was heard in the kitchen. Zero gets up, "That's one that's done."**

**After everyone ate, they all started to play **_**Guitar Hero Metallica.**_** Raven was playing faceoff with Zero. Sith then says, "Hit the note! Hit the note!"**

**Raven then says, "I just did!"**

**Zero laughs, "Oh shit! I almost didn't catch that one!"**

**Raven and Zero were hitting the buttons on their guitar paddles. Zero played on hard and Raven played on medium. They were playing the song, **_**The Thing That Should Not Be by Metallica.**_** Raven and Zero were staring at the television screen, watching the notes come down on the screen with bright colours. Raven was starting to get an 80 note streak. Sith smiles, "Raven! You almost have this!"**

**Zero then says, "Hey, we're not playing battle. Geez."**

**Raven then started muttering the lyrics to the music. All that was heard was clicking of buttons from Raven and Zero. Evan looks, "Holy crap! Almost 100 note streak."**

**Raven then says, "I know."**

**She then messed up on a note. She mutters, "Dammit!!"**

**Zero laughs, "Spoke too soon."**

**Raven laughs, "Shut up."**

**They both got ready for the guitar solo of the song. Sith then says, "I'm going next!"**

**Raven then says as the notes came flying on the screen, "Sith, shut up!"**

**Zero was getting overwhelmed by notes, "Shit!!!"**

**He kept on missing a few and then redeamed himself. Raven was hanging on by a thread, by redeamed herself as well. The song was nearly over. **

**Finally the song was over. Raven smiles,"Phew, thought I was done."**

**Zero laughs, "I thought I was too."**

**They then pass up the paddles to Sith and Evan. As soon as Evan grabs one, he sighs, "I'm gonna suck at this."**

**Sith then says, "I call the next song!"**

**He then picks a song on the menu screen. He then clicks on **_**Sad But True.**_** Sith went on medium while Evan did as well. The song then starts with the guitar notes. As soon as the lyrics started, Sith started to sing for fun. So far, Evan and Sith weren't doing too bad. Raven chuckles, "Wow, a guitar show AND a singing show."**

**Zero chuckles, "Yeah."**

**Raven says, "Man, I wish I had drums now."**

**Zero laughs, "Yeah, really."**

**Evan almost misses a note, "Fuck!"**

**Sith was glued right onto the notes as he just sang away to the song. The guitar solo came up. Sith was hitting every one perfect, while Evan was struggling just to get half, "Shit!! This is fucked!!"**

**Sith just keeps clicking away at the bottons. He nods his head to the music. Raven laughs at Evan's struggle. Evan then says, "It's not funny! Dammit!"**

**He then clicks the bottons every direction, almost losing out the song. Then the song cut when it was close to the end. Sith lowers the paddle and looks over to Evan, "You suck dude."**

**Evan then says, "I can't help it if like a million notes fly at me!"**

**Sith shakes his head, "We almost made it too."**

**After a long night of video games, everyone finally goes to bed. Zero waves as he walks to his room, "Night."**

**Raven lays on the couch, "Night."**

**Zero then goes to his room and closes the door. Evan slept on a fold out chair, while Sith decided to sleep on the floor. Sith was already asleep. Evan makes himself comfortable. The room was now dark.**

**Evan then says, "So......what do you plan on doing tomorrow?"**

**Raven looks up at the ceiling, "......I was actually thinking of a way we can all go halves on getting a place.....for all of us."**

**Evan then looks to the ceiling, "That'll be cool."**

**Raven closes her eyes and slurs before falling asleep, "Yeah..."**

**Evan then looks over to her. He then smiles a little as he too falls asleep.**

**Later that night, Raven was fast asleep. He tossed and turned a bit. She kept on seeing visions. She saw a man with dragon green eyes and long, black hair. It almost flowed like silk. In the vision, he smiles at her. When he does, fangs are visable.**

**He puts his hands on her waist. He pulls her really close. He almost kisses her lips, breathing his warm breath upon her skin. Raven was dazed, drawn in. His eyes, the way he looked at her. It was as if he hungered, yearned, desired.**

**He touches the side of her face with one of his hands, as if feeling something strange for the first time. Something he always wanted. He looks at her once again. He whispers, "Raven....."**

**His touch was soft and cold. Raven shivered a bit. She closes her eyes and slowly opens them. The man then runs his lips along Raven's neck, as if testing a taste. His fangs grew and he then bit into Raven's neck.**

**Raven gasps and shoots up from her sleep. Sweat was running down her face. The dream felt so real. Raven had seen this man in her dreams before, but never this bad and realistic. She touches her neck, as if protecting it. She looks around, it was still dark. A voice was heard, "Are you alright?"**

**Raven turns and it was Evan sitting up in the chair. Raven turns away and nods, "I'm fine. Just a weird dream.......that's all."**

**Evan nods, "I get those sometimes. Sometimes not good."**

**Raven chuckles, "Well this was one of them."**

**Evan then says, "You should rest, big day tomorrow." **

**Raven nods, "Okay."**

**She then lays back down and turns herself away. She tries to sleep. She couldn't at first, but eventually went back to sleep. Dreams still tormented her that night. She then had another strange dream, only this time it was different.**

**Raven was at Hollow's End. She looks before her and sees a silver werewolf standing in front of her. Her eyes widened as she steps back. She then heard something behind her. She turns around and sees an evil looking vampire staring at her. He smirks, revealing his fangs. This wasn't the same man from before, this one was different. The man went to grab her, until she was shoved on the ground by something. Raven looks to see the werewolf taking on the vampire. **

**Her eyes widened at the fierce battle. She stands up and gasps. Just then, she felt herself get grabbed by someone. She lets out a small shriek. She turns to see the same man from before. His whispers, **_**"It's too dangerous here. I don't want you to get hurt." **_

**His voice was nice and dominate. Sexy too, if Raven could say so herself. Raven whispers back, **_**"Get me out of here." **_

**The man smiles as he then closes in on her. He places his lips upon Raven's. He began to kiss her. Raven instantly closes her eyes and wraps one arm around him. The man parts the kiss, **_**"Wake my love."**_

**Raven then wakes up. She sits up and sees Evan and Sith asleep. She looks out the window to see it was dawn. Raven gets up and goes outside. She watches the sunrise as she kept on thinking about her dreams from last night. She crosses her arms as a cold chill blew passed her.**

**Raven blinks as she suddenly tasted something in her mouth. She puts her hands on her lips and then looks at her hand. Blood was on it. Her eyes widened. She then licks her lips and goes back inside. She gets a drink of water to wash the blood back down.**

**Raven leans over the kitchen sick. She stares at the drain, still thinking about her nightmares. She wasn't even sure if they should be called that. She closes her eyes and lets out a deep sigh. She opens her eyes and looks at the time on the microwave. It was 6:30am. She puts a hand on her mouth and closes her eyes again. She take a deep breath and lets it back out slowly.**

**After everyone woke up and ate breakfast, they all sat outside and waited for Pheonix to pick them up. Evan then looks to Raven, "You sleep well?"**

**Raven nods and lies, "Yeah....I did."**

**Evan smiles, "That's good."**

**Sith then looks at Raven, "You have that nightmare again?"**

**Raven then says, "Shut up!"**

**Sith then says, "What? It's just a question."**

**Raven then says, "Let's drop it okay?"**

**After Raven said that, Pheonix pulls up, "Hey. Everyone ready?"**

**Raven nods, "Yup. We're all set."**

**Raven then takes the passenger seat in the front. Everyone else got into the back. Pheonix began to drive to Coslotus and Serenity's house, "You guys sleep okay?" **

**Raven nods, "Yeah. We did."**

**Pheonix smiles, "That's good."**

**Just then, Sythe was seen flying along side the jeep. Pheonix smiles, "Look at that."**

**Raven chuckles as Zero said, "Woah! That's epic!"**

**Sith and Raven smile and wave to Sythe. He lets out a roar and flies higher. Evan looks as well, "Uhh......why did he roar?"**

**Raven then says, "That's just his way of responding back to a hello."**

**Raven then peers out the window, without a single word. The man from her dreams still lingered in her thoughts. She couldn't get him out of her mind. Why?**


	10. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine: Seeking a Place to Live**_

**After Pheonix picked everyone up, they arrived at a resturant. They all sat down and took a seat, except for Coslotus. As he went to leave, Serenity says, "Where're you going?"**

**Coslotus just says one word, "Out..."**

**He then leaves the group. After Coslotus is gone, everyone looks to Raven. Hikari then says, "Okay, what's the plan?"**

**Raven then looks at everyone. She puts her hands on the table and crosses her fingers together. She then says, "How would you guys feel if we all lived together?"**

**Serenity smiles, "That'd be.....that'd be awesome!"**

**Hikari then says, "YEAH! It would!!"**

**Zero thinks for a moment before saying, "I guess....I guess it'd be okay. It'd probrably be epic!"**

**Pheonix nods, "Yeah. I'd LOVE that!"**

**Raven smiles a little, "Good. Because we're gonna go find a place."**

**Serenity then says, "How? I don't think any of us have the money."**

**Raven smirks, "That's where we come in. We're gonna make some!"**

**Pheonix then asks, "How?"**

**Raven then says, "We're all gonna go out and find jobs. We save up and then go get us a place."**

**Hikari smiles, "This is gonna be fun!"**

**Raven chuckles. She then says, "Okay, first of all, who here has a job already?"**

**Pheonix and Sith then raise their hands. Raven sighs, "Is that it?"**

**Raven looks to Zero, "You don't have a job?"**

**Zero shakes his head, "Not since my Sensei died."**

**Raven then looks to Hikari, "Not even you??"**

**Hikari laughs, "Nope! My money is given to me! I don't have to work!"**

**Everyone's eyes widened. Zero then says, "H-how is that possible? Who gives you money?"**

**Hikari smiles, "I got an inheritance from the very witch that taught me."**

**Serenity then asks, "Who was that?"**

**Hikari looks to her, "Her name was Agatha Grimwood. She taught me and died of old age. She left me a will saying I get all of her possessions and money."**

**Pheonix's eyes widened, "Agatha Grimwood?? The one that was also known as the Lady of Woes?"**

**Hikari nods with a smile, "Yup! That's her!"**

**Pheonix's eyes widened even more, "You were taught by her??"**

**Hikari nods, "Yup!"**

**Pheonix then says, "S-she's one of the top four most powerful witches in the world!!!"**

**Hikari nods, "Yeah I know! Isn't that cool?!"**

**Serenity then says, "H-how did you meet her?"**

**Everyone then looks to Hikari. She then says, "Well.....after the Slavery Period....I wondered on my own. I didn't have any money....so I had no food. I was near starvation when she found me. I had fallen on her property when I became ill from dehidration. She came running out with a broomstick, yelling at me to get off her lawn. She came chasing after me after I ran. I hid from her and hoped to never see her again. She was scary. Then the next day, she was grocery shopping and found me on the way home. When she got a good look at me and saw how ill I was, she invited me to her home. She gave me food and water and apologized for chasing me. After that, she did my reading and sensed a great aura about me."**

**Hikari then took a breath, "She then said I was gonna become her apprentice. She taught me all sorts of stuff and she even let me live with her. After I became a full-fledged witch, she told me that a raven lady was gonna find me. She told me when that happens, guide her into battle and set things right. She died of old age a week later....."**

**Serenity's eye deepen with concern, "Aw....I'm so sorry. That must've been hard for you." **

**Hikari nods, "Yeah. But you get over it after a while."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "That's the second person that previsioned me coming to you guys!!!"**

**Hikari then says, "What do you mean?"**

**Raven then points to Zero, "His Sensei said that I was gonna find him before he died."**

**Hikari eyes widened, "Weird!"**

**Sith sighs, "We're getting off topic. We're here to discuss about a place to live, not to hear about everyone's life story!"**

**Raven sighed, "Yeah.....off topic here. Heh heh. Okay Hikari.....how much did Agatha exactly leave you?"**

**Hikari thinks, "Um.......not including money for food each week....I'd say around......around $30, 000?"**

**Everyone's eyes widened. Zero says, "Holy crap! You're practically rich!"**

**Hikari nods, "Yeah, it's true!"**

**Raven then says, "Do you think we can use that money to get a place?"**

**Hikari nods, "I don't see why not."**

**Pheonix then says, "Wait a minute. We need to find a place we want first! We can't assume anything yet."**

**Serenity then says, "What do you suggest we do?"**

**Pheonix then says, "Okay.....we need to actually go out and look."**

**Raven then says, "Then why are we sitting here for then? Let's go!"**

**Pheonix then drives them all to a Real Estate building. They all go inside. Raven then goes to the front counter. The clerk was sitting there talking on the phone. From her looks, she looked like a demon passing off as human. She wore a red outfit with black reading glasses and blonde hair. They only thing that stood out the most was her glowing red eyes. She finally hangs up the phone when she notices Raven, "Can I help you?"**

**Raven then said, "Yes you can. Um....I'm trying to find a place that's available."**

**She nods, "Okay, if you look over there.....you'll see our books with pictures and information on homes that are available."**

**She points to the other side of the lobby. Raven nods, "Thank you."**

**Raven walks away and goes to the table with the books. The group follows. Raven then says, "Okay everyone, grab a book and start looking."**

**Evan comes beside Raven and grabs one, "What kind of place are we looking for?"**

**Raven then says, "Any place that's big and has a lot of rooms."**

**Each person then took a book and looked through it. Evan looks at the book Raven had, and then at her. Raven's eyes shifted to Evan's direction. As soon as she saw him look at her, she turns her head and smiles at him. Evan smiles back. Both of them then went back to looking at their books.**

**Hikari looks at a book and then looks at everyone else, "Question. Why can't we all stay at my house?"**

**Raven looks at Hikari, "Is it big enough to house eight people?"**

**Hikari looks to the floor, "No."**

**Raven then said, "There's your answer."**

**The group laughs at what Raven said. Raven then says, "Now....back to business."**

**Serenity smiles, "Oh! Here's a nice home."**

**Everyone looks at the picture Serenity was pointing at. It was a small white house that looked half decent. Raven then says, "Too small."**

**Serenity then goes, "Aww.....okay. I'll look some more then."**

**Raven flips through countless pages as did the others. Sith sees a picture, "This house looks cool."**

**Everyone looks. Sith was pointing at a creepy looking mansion. Zero then says, "Uhh.....I don't think that's......"**

**Hikari then says, "That's awesome looking!"**

**Serenity then says, "Uhh.....that looks kinda creepy."**

**Pheonix then says, "It looks like a haunted house in an amusement park."**

**Sith then says, "What's wrong with it? I think it looks cool. Reminds me of Resident Evil One."**

**Raven finally looks, "Fuck that! We're not moving into a place like that. Keep looking."**

**Sith sighs, "Fine! God! It was only a suggestion."**

**Sith then continues to flip through more pages. Raven throws down her book, "This is bullshit! It's hopeless!"**

**Evan then puts his hand on Raven's back for comfort, "Don't give up. We'll find a place eventually."**

**Raven looks at Evan, "I hope so."**

**Pheonix shouts, "Hey! I think I found it! The perfect one!"**

**Everyone then crowds around Pheonix to get a good look. Pheonix points to a picture, "Look at this. It's awesome looking!"**

**Everyone looks at the picture Pheonix was pointing at. This house was fairly big. Perfect size actually. It was only one story, but still acceptable. It had a huge backyard AND front yard. It also had a good sized driveway and a nice looking garage. The painting looked like it was chipping away. Red that tried to cover white. The fences looked as if they were falling apart and flowers and weeds were growing wildly. **

**Serenity then said, "Umm......isn't that a little.......uhh, umm...."**

**Serenity finally says, "It's a dump."**

**Evan then says, "Geez. That's gonna take some handy work."**

**Pheonix smiles, "Exactly! It has the room. We just need to make it into our own."**

**Hikari then says, "It has nice space."**

**Zero then says, "It's not so bad if we all work together on it."**

**Sith then says, "It actually looks kinda.....cool. Okay."**

**Everyone then looks to Raven. She then takes the book from Pheonix and looks at it. Pheonix smiles at her, "Well? What do you think of it?"**

**Raven looks at everyone and then at the page. She then read the information on it. She starts muttering a little, reading it lowly, "Located in the forest area of Green Waters. Yadi yadi yada. Has a maximum of ten bedrooms. Includes basement, garage, shed, and water stream. Cost is......"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "$50, 000?!!!"**

**Raven then says, "I'm sorry but......I know this house is perfect and everything....but we only have $30, 000."**

**Pheonix then says, "That's okay. Like you said, we can all work for it. All we need is $20, 000."**

**Raven then looks at the picture again, "I dunno......that could take weeks!"**

**Pheonix then looks to Sith, "You said you worked right?"**

**Sith then says, "Yeah."**

**Pheonix then says, "What do you work as?"**

**Sith then says, "I'm a soul hunter for Reapers. Their usually worth a lot. Especially if they're targeting a human soul, and that soul is willing to pay big time! That's when the REAL money comes in."**

**Pheonix then says, "Okay. That's a start. The rest of us will need to go job hunting."**

**Raven then says, "Except for Hikari."**

**Pheonix then asks, "Why?"**

**Raven then looks to Hikari, "Because.....she's willing to give up $30, 000 for us. All of us."**

**Hikari smiles, "Aww......thanks Raven."**

**Raven smiles back, "From this moment on, you don't have to do anything further for us."**

**Hikari smiles more, "Awww......"**

**Pheonix then says, "Alright, that's fair."**

**Evan then says, "Aww, man! Does this mean I have to do something too? Since she's not doing nothing?"**

**Raven then says, "Why? I'm gonna have to look for a job too."**

**Evan sighs, "Fine. I'll look too."**

**They all then go to the front desk. They show the clerk the house they want. Raven then says, "This is the one we want. Is there anyway we can have it held for us?"**

**The clerk looks and says, "There is. If you make some of the payment now and the rest later, it's yours."**

**Raven smiles, "Cool! Thank you."**

**The clerk looks, "Uh....umm.....are you sure you want that one?"**

**Raven nods, "Yes we're sure. This is the one we want. Otherwise we wouldn't have came here telling you we want this."**

**The clerk sighs, "Okay. Do you have some of the payment?"**

**Everyone then looks at Hikari. She digs in her purse. She pulls out a black bank card, "Is debit okay?"**

**Meanwhile, Coslotus was alone in the wastelands of Grimstone. Vortexes were flowing everywhere. He fed off of outworldly energy. He needed it. One reason why he strayed away from the group. **

**He then goes under one of them and sits down, meditating. A black aura then surrounds him. He closes his eyes as his aura began to suck away the energy from the vortex he was under. He started to feel re-energized. He takes in a deep, slow breath, and then breathes it back out.**

**His eyes then open as he sensed a shift in the energy. He feels another aura that wasn't normal. He looks up and sees a giant creature falling over him. He rolls himself in the air and lands in a crouching position on his feet. Coslotus' eyes narrow, "That's not right."**

**The giant creature was huge and grey. It wore big black armour. It had cold black eyes and giant hands almost hard as rock. It has massive muscles and a massive horn on it's nose. It was none other than a rhinoceros demon. It smirks as soon as it caught sight of Coslotus, "Little weakling out here?! This shall be fun!!"**

**Coslotus smirks, "I'm not the one who's weak here. I suggest you don't push me to find out." **

**The demon smirks, "What happens then?"**

**Coslotus straightens himself from his crouching position, "You don't want to know."**

**The demon laughs, "Oh, now I do!"**

**The demon then slides his foot on the ground, ready to ram Coslotus. The rhino demon's nostrils flare and snort out steam. His eyes glow red with rage and hate. Coslotus smirks, revealing his fangs, "Don't say I never warned you."**

**Coslotus then cracks his knuckles and adjusted his wings, cracking them as well. The last thing he cracked was his neck. He then crouches at bit, getting ready for the brute's attack. The demon growls, "Don't worry. I won't!!!"**

**The demon flares his nostrils again and drags his foot in the dirt, over and over again. Coslotus' eyes go colder and his claws grow longer. His clawed feet stratches the dirt a little. Anxious with the excitement of feeling the thrill of battle.**

**The rhino demon then flares it's nostrils one more time and roars out a battle cry of fierce rage. It finally runs at full speed at Coslotus. It's footsteps heavy up to the point it shook the ground. Coslotus then sticks his hands out in front of him, with his claws at the ready.**

**The rhino finally rams him. Coslotus then grabs hold of his horn with one hand and then his neck with the other. Coslotus' feet dig into the ground. He growls and his eyes go deeper into coldness. The demon growls, "You....won't....defeat me!!"**

**Coslotus smirks, "Really? I beg to differ."**

**He then punches the demon in the face. The demon goes flying to the otherside of the area. He lands on the ground with a big smash, leaving a giagantic dent in the earth. Coslotus then walks towards the demon, without a single sweat.**

**Coslotus' smirk widens, "You were saying?"**

**The demon gets up, now even more angered. He shouts, "I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD!!!"**

**He runs at Coslotus again. He then steps to the side slightly, dodging him. He then grabs the demon with one hand, "Not likely......but I'll take your energy."**

**Coslotus then began to glow the same black aura as before. The rhino demon then began to glow as well. An aura then came from the demon. It started to get drained slowly out of him, now going into Coslotus. The demon's eyes widened as his energy was leaving him. Coslotus smirks evily, "You sure talk big for a big, useless weakling."**

**The demon's eyes then began to droop as more of his energy was being added to Coslotus. The demon's eyes finally closed as his energy was now gone. Coslotus then throws him on the ground. He then cracks his neck, "Could've been more fun...at least I got what I needed..."**

**With that, Coslotus then walks away, now going back to the group.**


	11. Chapter 10

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Ten: Dimus**_

**A few days later, everyone went out and found a job. Even Coslotus had managed to find a job. **

**Zero found a job as an escourt for older people, or creatures, and also helped carry their belongings to their homes.**

**Serenity found a job at a daycare, helping out children from all sorts of races.**

**Evan found a job that required demons to be hunted. The more dangerous the demon, the more money it's worth. **

**Coslotus got a job tearing down old houses with his bare hands. The bigger the house, the more money he made.**

**Raven found a job exocising unwanted spirits in different people's homes. The more spirits there are, the more the money she made. Especially if there was more than one in one home.**

**Pheonix carried on his job as a monster exterminator as Sith carried on with Reaper hunting. Hikari just sat back and enjoyed herself while the rest of her friends worked.**

**As weeks pass, the group makes more and more money. They now had $10, 500. Only $500 more was needed. The group sat in the usual resturant that they now hung out in. Raven smiles, "Good job. All of you."**

**Everyone smiles at Raven. She smiles back at everyone, "I mean it. Good work."**

**Hikari smiles, "All we need is $500 more!"**

**Pheonix smiles, "This is gonna be great! Have a big place to ourselves and rebuild it our own way!"**

**Serenity smiles, "This is exciting."**

**Coslotus shrugs, "Not that exciting. It's only a stupid house."**

**Serenity's eyes narrowed, "You're always so negative! Either stop it or be quiet."**

**Coslotus just turns his head, "Hmf!"**

**As the group was talking among themselves, a dark figure was sitting in the corner of the resturant. Watching, peering. Particularly at Raven. He had dragon green eyes that shimmered. He slowly blinks as he glanced upon her. He smelled the air. He caught a whiff of Raven's scent. It was lovely and eligant. The best smell he ever came across. He had his legs crossed in his chair. He switches them as he leans back, staring at her.**

**He was also pale. Very pale. His bangs came over one of his eyes. He removes it with one of his fingers, that had fairly long nails. His hair was long and black. Flowed down a little passed his shoulders, almost as good as silk. He wore very nice clothes. He wore a black long sleeved shirt that was made of silk. It was undone half way to show his bare chest. He wore black pants with black boots. His face was very handsome. He was almost slender with a hint of muscle. **

**Raven blinks as everyone else began to talk. She feels something in the resturant. Something familar. She looks around and finally sees a man looking right at her. Her eyes widened as soon as she saw him. It was the very man from her dreams. She almost felt as if her breath had almost left her. **

**A few minutes later, everyone then gets up to leave. Raven was the last one to leave. A man then stops in front of her. Her eyes widened as she peered up at him. It was **_**him. **_**The man from her dreams. He stood 6,0 in height. His eyes stared right through her. One word leaves his beautiful lips, "Raven?"**

**Raven was frozen stiff. She couldn't move. She was stunned. Raven then takes a big gulp and nods. The man smiles at her. His fangs were visable, but only a little bit. He then says, "I'm sorry to startle you. I just had to meet you in person finally."**

**His voice was the same as in her dreams. Dominate, beautiful. Raven then says, "Y-you.......you are responsible for those dreams?"**

**He nods, "I am indeed. I apologize if it upsets you."**

**Raven was overwhelmed with confusion. She wasn't sure how to take what had just been told to her. She had to admit, he was better looking in person. He was also hypnotic. His eyes dazzling her everytime he looked her in the eyes. He chuckles, "Where're my manners? I never even introduced myself."**

**He then bows to her, "I am Dimus Nomed."**

**With that, he takes Raven's hand and kisses it. It was soft and gentle. His skin was cold as well. His head then shifted up to look at her while he was still bowing. He looked at her with interest and passion. He raises himself and looks into her eyes, smiling at her. He still held her hand, "You're probrably wondering what I'm doing here."**

**Raven then says, "Yes. Not only that but......why did you need to meet me?"**

**Dimus then says, "I can sense where you are. I needed to meet you because.......I've been searching for you."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "You can sense me? And why have been searching for me?"**

**Dimus then says, "It's your aura. Your aura is what had drawn me to you. That's why I wanted to meet you."**

**Dimus finally lets go of Raven's hand. She then said, "My aura?"**

**Dimus smiles, "I don't know why. You're aura....there's just something about it. It caught my attiention, so I tracked it....and it lead me to you."**

**Raven didn't know what to make of it. She then took a breath, "I'm flattered that you wanted to meet me.....but--"**

**Dimus cuts her off and says calmly, "If you want me to leave.....don't hesitate to say so."**

**Raven quickly says, "No! It's not like that! I'm just.....still taking this in. If I knew you were real.......I would've tried to track you down too."**

**Dimus smiles and leans forward towards her. He then puts his lips close to Raven's ear. He whispers softly, **_**"You should get back to your friends. If you want to see me again.....meet me here at 9:00pm tomorrow night....we'll talk more then."**_

**He then hands Raven a small card. Raven grabs it. Dimus locks his hand on hers as soon as she took the card. He whispers, **_**"I'll be waiting......"**_

**He then leans back to look at her one last time. Raven looks back at him. It seemed as if he was gonna kiss her, but he then walks away. Raven's heart began to pound as he left. She then looks down and gets a good look at the card he gave her. It said **_**The Night Rave.**_

**She then looks around to see that he was gone. She then leaves the resturant to catch up with her friends.**

**The next day, Serenity had to go in to her new job. That day she had to take care of a young gargoyle, an ork, an elf, and a monkey demon. They were all hyper and all wanted to play.**

**They started to mess up the daycare room. They all threw papers, paints, and other stuff. Some almost hit Serenity. She dodges, "AHH!!!"**

**She tries to get their attention, "Uhh......umm.....excuse me.....kids?"**

**The kids wouldn't listen. The monkey demon starts to jump on a desk. Serenity's eyes widened, "Uhh.....Kang! Don't do that!!!"**

**The little ork then started to chase the elf kid with a book and a baseball bat. Serenity shouts, "Taze!! Don't pick on Lynelle!!!"**

**The gargoyle kid then throws paint at the walls. Serenity gasps, "No! Don't do that, Garth!!"**

**The kids were shouting and screaming. Serenity was getting furious. Her whole body then lights on fire as she screams, "ALL OF YOU STOP IT!!! GET IN A LINE NOW!!!!"**

**All the kids looked at Serenity and stopped. They all ran and formed a line. They all shoke in fright. Serenity's fire resides as she takes a deep breath and says calmly, "Now....who would like to play some games?"**

**Raven is in a park, sitting on a bench. She was still looking at the card Dimus had given her. She then hears a voice, "What's that you got?"**

**Raven jumps a tad and looks up. It was Evan. She then pockets the card and says, "It's nothing.....just a business card some coot gave me."**

**Evan then sits beside her, "I see. You're off work already?"**

**Raven then says, "I got off early."**

**Evan nods, "That sounds cool. Must be nice."**

**Raven chuckles, "Yeah, it is."**

**Evan smiles, "Rub it in why don't you?"**

**Raven smiles, "I'll try not to."**

**Evan then says sarcastically, "Sure."**

**Raven smiles as she nudges him with her shoulder. Evan smiles and nudges her back. They then look ahead into the skies. Evan then says, "This time tomorrow.....we'll all be living together."**

**Raven smiles again, "Yeah.....then we can rebuild it into our own. Make it our playground."**

**Evan chuckles, "Sounds like fun."**

**Raven turns and smiles at him. Evan smiles back at her.**

**Sith just got done slaughtering another Reaper. He wipes the sweat from his head. He looks and sees Dimus watching him fight. He then glares at him at the same time as in wonder. Dimus just smirks at him as he then thought, **_**"So....this is Raven's brother. Impressive."**_

**Sith then thinks to himself,**_** "Who in hell is this asshole?"**_

**Dimus then walks away, thinking of Raven and his date at **_**The Night Rave.**_** He then disappears into the nearest shadow. Sith then shakes his head as he starts to head back to Zero's house. On the way, he wondered whether or not to tell Raven about his close encounter.**

**He finally arrives back at Zero's house. He walks in. Zero sees him, "Hey there. What's up?"**

**Sith then puts his stuff away, "Oh you know. Same old, same old. And you?"**

**Zero shrugs, "Just got back myself."**

**Sith then looks around, "Where's Raven?"**

**Zero then says, "At the park. She said she'd be back."**

**Sith nods, "Okay."**

**He then goes to Zero's PS3 and puts on a game. Zero shakes his head, "Is that all you do?"**

**Sith then says, "Yup. You gotta pass the time somehow."**

**Zero shakes his head, "I'm telling you, kid....."**

**Sith just shrugs and starts to play a game.**

**Raven and Evan come through the door. Raven calls, "We're home."**

**Zero waves, "Hey, Raven."**

**Raven smiles, "Hey, Zero."**

**Raven and Evan then put their stuff away. Zero then asks, "How was work?"**

**Raven then shrugs, "Not bad I guess."**

**Zero chuckles, "What about you, Evan?"**

**Evan then says, "The same I guess. I guess you could say it was **_**smashing?**_**"**

**Evan chuckles as he thought of the last demon he fought. It was a mole demon. It was vanquished by a boulder smashing him dead.**

**Raven shakes her head as she then walks to the livingroom and plops down on the couch. She sighs, "What an exhausting day."**

**Zero sits down in his chair, "You're telling me. I'm sure glad we get that house tomorrow."**

**Raven nods, "Me too."**

**Raven then leans her head back. Evan sits beside Sith, "Move over, I'm playing."**

**Sith moves over, "Knock yourself out."**

**Sith and Evan then start to play co-operative on **_**Call of Duty 4. **_**Raven and Zero watch the game. She then thinks of Dimus once again. In few a hours, she was gonna meet him. Soon, her questions would be answered. She wondered whether or not she was soon to find out as to why she was so drawn to this man.**


	12. Chapter 11

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Eleven: A Night by the Moonlight**_

**It was an hour before Raven had to go meet Dimus. She gets up and gets her bag. She drops the card that Dimus gave her on the floor as she walks to the bathroom, not knowing she dropped it.**

**She opens her bag and gets out a few clothes. She changes into them. She fixes her hair and once again puts a raven feather in it. She then puts on silver, dangling earrings that Hikari had given her last week.**

**Raven then looked at herself in the mirror as she put on black eyeliner. She wore a tight, black, spaghetti strap dress that went just above her knees. They had bright purple laces showing at the very front of it on her bosom. On the back showed the same. She wore fish net gloves, with black ribbion, that went just below her elbows. She also wore a black ribbion choker. **

**Raven then laces up her black hiking boots. She then grabs a black leather purse and puts it over her shoulder. She finally comes out of the bathroom. Sith was glued on to the game still. Zero looks, "Don't you look nice."**

**Raven smiles and nods, "Thank you."**

**Evan comes in the room. His eyes widened as soon as he saw Raven, "Woah! Hot alert!"**

**Raven chuckles at Evan's comment. Evan then asks, "Where're you off to?"**

**Raven then says, "I just need to meet up with someone. I'll be back in a few hours."**

**Raven finally goes to leave, "I'll see you guys later. Bye."**

**Zero nods, "Have a good time."**

**Sith mutters, "Later."**

**Evan doesn't say anything. As soon as she left, he looks to Zero and Sith, "**_**Someone**_**? Who's **_**someone**_**?"**

**Zero shrugs, "She didn't say anything to me."**

**Sith then says, "It's probrably no big deal if she didn't tell us."**

**Evan then nods, "Hm. I guess you're right."**

**Evan then goes to walk to the bathroom when he looks down to the floor. He sees a card. He squats down and picks it up. He reads it. **_**The Night Rave. **_**Evan then catches a very abnormal scent. He sniffs the card. His eyes widened. It was the scent of man that wasn't human. A vampire to be precise, but different. Evan then says to himself, "A date...."**

**Evan felt a pinch of resentment and anger. He stands up and looks at the card once again. He then crumples the card in his hand. He growls a bit as he looks to the door.**

**Raven walks the street, searching for the club Dimus was going to meet her at. She sees a lot of guys from different races gawk at her. She grips the strap of her purse nervously. She finally finds **_**The Night Rave.**_** As she goes to walk in, an ogre comes in her way. He smirks at her, "Hey, babe. Care for a good time tonight?"**

**Raven then says calmly, "Um.....no thanks."**

**The ogre comes even closer, "Aw...come on. It'll be worth your while."**

**Raven then feels an arm wrap around her. Her eyes widened to see it was Dimus. His eyes narrow into a glare, "I'll make it worth my while when I tear you to pieces."**

**The ogre's eyes widened as he shoke a little, "This.....this is your girl, D-Dimus?"**

**Dimus glares at him more, "Yeah, she is. I suggest you back off unless you want your hide displayed for every paying customer!!!"**

**The ogre nods, "O-okay, Dimus. I-I'm sorry."**

**The ogre then turns and runs off. Dimus shakes his head and mutters, "Imbecile."**

**He then looks down at Raven, "You alright?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. I'm fine."**

**Dimus shakes his head, "I'm sorry for that. Some people can be....idiots."**

**Raven chuckles, "I hear you there."**

**Dimus smiles at her, "Shall we?"**

**Raven smiles and nods. Dimus then escourts her inside. Inside was bright purple and blue lights flashing. The floor looked like glass with sand underneth. There were mirrors on two of the walls with a lot of tables. In the center was a huge area where people danced. In front of them was a stage with a DJ playing a bunch of songs.**

**The bar was across the room with stools in a row. In another corner of the room was a few pool tables and dart boards. Raven smiles at the sight. This was her kind of place. Dimus sees Raven's reaction and smiles, "I thought you'd like this place."**

**Raven smiles, "You thought right."**

**Dimus bows, "Your welcome."'**

**Raven giggles. Dimus then grabs her hand and leads her to a table. They both sit at it. Dimus finally notices Raven's outfit. He smiles at her. Raven sees, "What?"**

**Dimus smiles, "I can see why that ogre wanted you now."**

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "And what's that suppose to mean?"**

**Dimus chuckles, "It means you look gorgeous."**

**Raven blushes a little, "Oh....um......thanks."**

**Dimus winks at her, "Pleasure..."**

**Raven looks at him and starts to laugh. Dimus smiles at her more, "You have a magnificent laugh."**

**Raven covers her mouth as her eyes widened. Dimus chuckles at her shyness, "Hey....it was a compliment. Don't you get any of those?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "No....at least not often."**

**Dimus smirks, "Well....you should. As often as possible"**

**Raven smiles, "You're sweet."**

**Dimus smiles, "Only to you, hun. Only to you."**

**A catchy song starts to play as Dimus and Raven look at one another. Dimus finally says, "Do you dance?"**

**Raven smirks, "Please. I'm native. I love to dance."**

**Dimus smirks, "That's a definate yes."**

**He then stands up and holds his hand out to her. Raven looks at his hand and then at him. She finally takes his hand. Dimus then takes her to the dance floor. He spins her and pulls her close. Raven gasps and chuckles. Raven then wraps her arms around him and began to dance to the beat. Dimus smiles as he dances along with her.**

**Dimus places his hands on her waist as they danced. He then places a hand on her back and pulls her even closer to him, their bodies now touching. Dimus then spins Raven again, only this time, her back was now touching his chest. He then places a hand on her stomach as he moved along with Raven's body. Raven smiles deviously as the music went on. They dance a little lowly as they then worked themselves back up. Raven moves her hips side to side. Dimus smirks as he too began to move side to side.**

**Raven then turns herself around and grabs Dimus by the collar of his shirt with one hand. She pulls him close and smirks. Dimus smirks back as he then grabs her and quickly dips her downwards and hooks one of her legs to his side. **

**Raven bites her lip as her eyes glittered to the flashing lights. Dimus was dazed by her look. Her eyes hypnotic and her aura strong with warmth. He could feel her heartbeat pick up a few paces. Not out of fear, but from dancing. Dimus then dips her downwards again, only this time, he finally lets her leg go. They then look at one another as they step side to side to the music. Rubbing against one another. Dimus then spins her back and forth and Raven then pulls him towards her.**

**They then stand beside one another and start to dance a little russian-like. People stared and clapped their hands to the beat. Dimus goes a little faster. Raven smirks as she then catches up with ease. They both spin around and dance side to side. Raven spins with a roundhouse kick as Dimus does a backflip. The song finally ends as people clapped their hands at the performance. Raven does a small curtsy and Dimus takes a bow. They both look at one another, smiling.**

**They then go to the bar and order a drink. Dimus and Raven panted a little. Dimus smirks, "You're quite good on your feet."**

**Raven smirks and says jokingly, "Would you like to see what I'm like off my feet?"**

**Dimus' eyes widened and then he chuckles. He says slyly, "Is that an invitation?"**

**Raven winks, "Maybe......maybe not."**

**Dimus smirks, "Now you're just being tempting. Very tempting."**

**Raven smirks, "I can be when I want to."**

**Dimus grins, "Can you now? I doubt you're even trying right now."**

**Raven chuckles, "You're right. I'm not."**

**Dimus chuckles with her as their drinks arrive. Raven takes a sip. Dimus watches her, "You're so beautiful."**

**Raven puts her glass down and looks at Dimus as he continues, "And I mean it."**

**Raven blushes slightly, "Umm.....thank you."**

**Dimus smiles at her, "You don't need to be shy around me."**

**He then puts a hand on Raven's hand. He holds it tightly. Raven smiles at him. Raven then asks, "Why **_**did**_** you bring me here? Out of curiousity."**

**Dimus smiles softly, "I wanted to get to know you more. I thought having some fun is a good start."**

**Raven smiles, "Fun **_**is**_** a good start."**

**Dimus stares at her, "I'm glad you think so."**

**Raven nods, "Thank you for this. I know we haven't known one another for long......but....to me it feels like much longer."**

**Dimus leans in closer to her, "It feels like it to me too."**

**They both look at one another. Both with passion. No spoken words. Dimus wanted to kiss her right then and there. But he couldn't. Raven felt taken by warmth. Feelings began to flourish within her all at once. Dimus finally takes his drink and drinks it up. He then says, "I should get you home. Don't want to worry your friends."**

**Raven nods, "Okay."**

**They both stand up and begin to walk out of the club. Dimus then places an arm around her as he puts a hand in his pocket. They both look at one another with a smile.**

**Evan paced back and forth in the livingroom. Feeling anxious and frustrated. Sith was still playing a game, "Dude, what's you're problem?"**

**Evan then says, "It's been three hours! She's **_**still**_** not back!!"**

**Sith then says, "Geez, calm down. It's only been three hours, Big whoop."**

**Evan was starting to get angry, "I'm worried, okay?!! You know, for someone whose sister is out late, you sure don't look worried."**

**Sith then says, "It's cause I'm not. She can take care of herself. Stop being paranoid."**

**Sith then says sarcastically, "If it bothers you that much, why not wait outside for her."**

**Evan then says, "Good idea."**

**He then walks to the door. Sith put the paddle down, "It was only a joke!"**

**Evan had already went outside. Sith shakes his head as he continues his game, "Idiot."**

**Evan goes outside and smells the air. He tried to calm himself. He felt angry, hurt, and a little betrayed. He then kicks the nearest tree as hard as he could. He left a dent in it. He growls loudly. Fangs were visable and his nails began to grow longer. He looks at his hand. His eyes widened, "Oh no! Oh God....no!!"**

**He looks up and sees a full moon get uncovered by clouds. His eyes glew red as his heartbeat slowed and deepened. He then falls on his knees and screams in pain. He grabs his chest as his ears began to grow and he began to get more hair on his entire body. He falls foreward on his hands as they then started to transform into paws with razor sharp claws. His scream then turned into a snarling roar. He began to grow a snout and a tail. He began to grow muscle as well.**

**Roars were heard in the air. The last thing that was heard was a howl. **

**Sith hears a howl outside that was very close. He pauses the game and puts the paddle down, "Evan?"**

**He stands up and looks outside, "Evan, I think you should come inside now."**

**He then walks outside, "Evan! Where the hell are you?"**

**He then hears a growl. Sith looks and sees a pair of glowing red eyes. Sith backs up, "Evan? You can come out now."**

**The thing then jumps at him. Sith jumps back, "Gah! Fuck!"**

**He then punches the thing in the face and runs to the house, "Zero!!"**

**The thing then shakes his head to snap out of it and he then began to chase Sith to the house. Sith runs inside and locks the door, "Zero!! Help!"**

**Zero comes, "What's going on?"**

**A bang was heard and a dent was formed in the door. Zero jumps, "Ah! What the fuck is that?!"**

**Sith grabs his sythe, "A werewolf!"**

**Zero grabs his Naginata, "Shit! How did that happen?"**

**Sith shouts, "Who cares?! Just shut up and brace yourself!"**

**There was silence now. Nothing was heard, not even a pin dropping. Then.....CRASH!!!**

**The werewolf jumps through the door. He tries to get at Sith. He dodges when the werewolf managed to knock his sythe from his hands. Zero and Sith got a good look at the werewolf. It was built quite a bit in height and width. It had glowing red eyes, white razor sharp fangs with black claws. His fur was messy and silver with a tint of black. He sniffs the air and growls. He then jumps at Zero and Sith grabs him, "RUN!!"**

**Zero nods, "Hold on a sec!."**

**He then runs to the shelf of spellbooks, "Keep it busy for a minute!!"**

**Sith gets thrown back to the wall, "Ugh! No problem."**

**Sith gets up, trying to gain his breath back, due to the wind that was knocked out of him. The werewolf growls and began to circle his prey. Sith looks to see his sythe, but it was behind the creature. Sith mutters, "Fuck...."**

**He clenches his fists as they began to glow a purple aura. Sith grits his teeth, "Come on....."**

**The werewolf growls at him as he got ready to pounce.**

**Dimus walked Raven all the way to Zero's house. They were at the foot of the property. Raven turns and looks at Dimus. She smiles, "Thank you...."**

**Dimus smiles as he steps closer to her, "Pleasure was all mine."**

**Raven bites her lip and smiles. Dimus closes in on her, ready to kiss her. Raven felt it was as if she'd fallen into one of her dreams. As Dimus' lips was inches away from Raven's, he whispers, **_**"Go help your friends. We'll meet another time."**_

**Raven's eyes widened, "What? My friends?"**

**She looks to the house. She turns back, "But when-?"**

**Dimus was already gone. Raven sighs as she then turns to head inside the house. She sees the door smashed. Her eyes widened as she ran inside.**

**She saw the werewolf was ready to pounce on Sith. She drops her purse, "SITH!!!"**

**Sith sees Raven as the werewolf turns around to look at her. Raven's eyes widened at what was going on. The werewolf stands up on it's hind legs and walks to Raven. She looks at the creature before her. He had a ripped shirt and ripped shorts. Raven began to quiver a little. Afraid to fight or even try to kill this creature. Why? **

**The werewolf slowly walks towards her. Sith's eyes widened, "RAVEN!!!"**

**Raven didn't move. The werewolf was now face to face with her. He then places his snout on her hair and sniffs her. Raven closes her eyes as she feels this creature take in a breath and breathe out a breath. It was warm and chilling at the same time. The werewolf leans back to look at her. Raven opens her eyes and looks up at it.**

**Zero's eyes widened as he then drops his spellbook.**

**The werewolf goes down on all fours and whines to Raven. Her eyes widened even more. It almost looked as if the werewolf was cowering before her. Sith's eyes widened, "Huh?"**

**The werewolf stares at Raven. She then steps closer to it, drawn. She sticks her hand out to it. Sith then shouts, "Raven, don't!!"**

**The werewolf then came up to Raven's hand and licked it. It whined again. Raven then starts to pet the side of its face. Zero looks to the werewolf and then to Raven. He then says, "It's acting like......like it knows you, Raven..."**

**Raven looks in the werewolf's eyes as she kept on petting him, "I think I know him too."**

**Sith's eyes widened, "**_**Him**_**?"**

**Raven then falls into the creature with her arms wrapped around it. The werewolf began to shake a little. Raven began to shed tears, "I'm here...."**

**She then kisses the werewolf on its head. Sith's eyes widened, "Never in my life......have I ever seen this happen."**

**Raven leans back and looks into the werewolf's eyes. She whispers softly, **_**"Hold on......"**_

**Her eyes then went cloudy white. She then mutters something under her breath. The clouds outside began to shift. Thunder was also heard. Clouds then covered the moon outside as a storm was forming. It then began to rain.**

**The werewolf began to transform. It whines in pain as it does. Raven hugs him more as tears streamed down her face. It's claws grew smaller, along with it's ears, and fur. Zero and Sith's eyes widened as the werewolf was turning back into a human.**

**After the transformation was done. Zero and Sith gasped. Sith raises an eyebrow, "E-Evan?!"**

**It was indeed Evan. He was the werewolf that had attacked Sith and Zero. Raven leans back and takes a good look at him, "Oh God...."**

**Evan then looks at Raven. His sight was blurry, but he could still tell it was her. He whispers, **_**"Raven....."**_

**He then passes out in Raven's arms.**


	13. Chapter 12

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Twelve: Golems of War**_

**Evan opens his eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but sees clearly after a couple of seconds. He then pops into a sit up and looks around. He sees he was in a bedroom full of anime posters and figurines. Shelves and shelves of manga and anime dvds could be seen as well. He guessed it was Zero's room. He found himself sweating. He wipes his forehead as he began to breathe heavily, wondering what had happened.**

**He finally noticed Raven was sleeping in a corner, in a chair. His eyes widened a little. Raven opens one eye and then both as soon as she saw Evan was awake. She jumps up and goes beside the bed, "How're you feeling?"**

**Evan looks around, "W-what happened?"**

**Raven looks down, "You.....you attacked Sith and Zero."**

**Evan's eyes widened, "I attacked them?! A-are they alright?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah, they're okay."**

**Evan sighs in relief, "That's good."**

**He then looks at Raven, "I.....I didn't hurt you did I?"**

**Raven's eyes widened a little. She shoke her head. Evan raises an eyebrow, "I didn't hurt you?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "N-no. Not even a little."**

**Evan then says, "........I'm glad."**

**Evan then looks at Raven, "I-I'm sorry."**

**Raven chuckles, "Don't worry about it. You couldn't help it."**

**Evan then says, "I....I should've told someone...."**

**Raven then puts her hand on his, "I don't blame you for keeping a secret that big."**

**Evan looks at Raven and then at their hands. He then switches his hand over her hand, now holding it. He then says, "H-how could you be so understanding? I almost killed your friend.....I almost killed your brother. I--"**

**He was cut off when Raven puts a finger on his lips, "Shh......I said don't worry about it, and I meant it. You couldn't help it, therefore it's not your fault."**

**She finally removes her finger from Evan's lips, "All we have to worry about is the moon. It's no problem."**

**Evan then fell silent for a moment. He finally says, "H-how long was I passed out?"**

**Raven then says, "Until morning."**

**Evan looks at Raven once again, "H-how did you get me back to normal? If I may ask?"**

**Raven smiles, "I made the clouds cover the moon. It rained all last night."**

**Evan's eyes widened a little, "Y-you can make it rain?"**

**Raven nods, "With the help of the spirits of course."**

**Evan smiles at her, "Thank you...."**

**Raven smiles, "Anytime."**

**Evan then realized he was still holding Raven's hand. He finally lets go, "Sorry..."**

**Raven giggles, "Don't sweat it."**

**Evan then says, "I think I know why I didn't attack you."**

**Raven then looks at Evan with a serious expression, "Why?"**

**As Evan went to say what he wanted to say, there was a knock. They both look to see it was Zero at the door. He smiles, "How's it going?"**

**Raven smiles, "He's alright."**

**Zero then says, "That's good. I'm glad."**

**Zero then looks to Evan, "I hope you feel better."**

**Evan nods, "Thanks."**

**Zero then says, "Pheonix is gonna be here in an hour to take us to our new house."**

**Raven smiles, "Thanks."**

**With that, Zero leaves the room. Raven then turns back to Evan. She smiles softly, "That's something. We get our new house today. We finally have enough for all of us to live together."**

**Evan smiles, "Yeah. That **_**is**_** something."**

**An hour later, Pheonix came to Zero's door. His eyes widened when he saw there was no door left. He knocks on a wall, "Hello?"**

**Zero comes to the door, "Hey. Come in. I'm just finishing some packing.....well....most of it. I still need to pack my stuff in my room."**

**Pheonix nods, "That's cool. What happened to the door? Did one of you guys party too hard last night?"**

**Zero shakes his head, "No. One of us decided to turn into a giant wolf and try to eat people."**

**Pheonix's eyes widened, "What? Are you serious?"**

**Zero then said, "If my broken door could talk, it'd tell you and would manage to be serious."**

**Pheonix chuckles at Zero's comment, "Okay, okay. I'll believe you. Who was it?"**

**Zero sighs, "Evan. Turns out he's a werewolf."**

**Pheonix's eyes widened, "Woah! That sucks. Is everyone okay?"**

**Zero nods, "Oh yeah. Thanks to Raven."**

**Pheonix raises an eyebrow, "Thanks to Raven?"**

**Zero nods again, "Yup."**

**Raven then comes in the room, "Zero? What are you telling Pheonix?"**

**Zero then says, "He asked what happened last night."**

**Raven nods, "Okay. But please don't talk about this around Evan. He feels bad enough about it as it is."**

**Zero nods, "Okay. No problem."**

**Pheonix smiles, "Don't worry. I won't bring up anything."**

**Raven smiles, "Thank you."**

**Sith then comes in the room, "Ready to go?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. I think we are."**

**Evan then comes out in a new set of clothes. He wore light, brown skater shorts, with a white t-shirt and over it, a red hawaiian style shirt that was unbottoned. He sighs, "Are we going now?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. Let's go."**

**Raven, Zero, and Pheonix go out the door first. Sith and Evan leave last. As everyone else was ahead, Sith goes in front of Evan, stopping him. He then says, "You're lucky I didn't kill you last night. I was about to. I would've lost it if you attacked my sister. But you didn't.....and I know why. You love my sister don't you. You had a thing for her since day one."**

**Evan's eyes widened a little. He then looks to the ground and then at Sith. He then says, "Look....I'm sorry, okay? I feel bad for what I've done."**

**Evan takes a deep breath and says, "And yes.....I do love Raven. She's the reason why I'm here."**

**Sith looks back to the others and then at Evan, "I'm not mad about what you did, I'm only warning you. Me and her have been hunting for a long time. We both know the traits of a werewolf and what their tendencies are. To give you heads up, don't be surprised if Raven knows about your feelings towards her. She too knows that a werewolf would never attack one they truely love."**

**With that, he walked away. Evan looks at Sith as he leaves. He then sighs out of frustration and catches up to the group. They all go into Pheonix's jeep.**

**After Pheonix picks everyone up, he starts to drive to the house, which was now theirs. Hikari bounces in her seat, "This is SO exciting!!"**

**Serenity smiles, "I know. This is pretty cool."**

**Zero smiles, "This is epic! We're actually doing this!!"**

**Pheonix smiles, "I told you we could do this together!"**

**Raven chuckles, "Well, no one said you were wrong."**

**Pheonix smiles at Raven, "I know. High five!!"**

**Raven smiles and high fives Pheonix. They both smile at one another. Pheonix finally parks in their new driveway. Everyone gets out. Raven smiles, "My God! It's awesome!"**

**Coslotus then jumps off from the roof of the jeep and looks as well. He finally says, "Not bad......for a wreck....."**

**Everyone looks at one another. Raven shouts, "**_**Choose your room**_** time!!"**

**Everyone, except Coslotus, run inside to claim their rooms. As soon as everyone got inside, it was empty with cobwebs. Some stuff was wrecked, but could be rebuilt easily.**

**Raven finds the biggest room, "Mine!!"**

**Sith runs beside her, "No! Mine!"**

**Raven shoves Sith, "Go away! I found it first!"**

**Sith shoves Raven back, "I want this room!"**

**Raven growls, "You always want everything I want! Go find another room!"**

**Sith growls, "No!"**

**Raven then shoves Sith up against the wall. Sith growls and shoves Raven up against the wall back. They then started to push one another. They both fall into the room at the same time, landing on their faces. They both say in unison, "Ow...."**

**Raven gets up and drags Sith out the door. She slams it, "Bye, bye!"**

**Raven sits up against the door. Sith bangs on it, "HEY!! THAT'S NOT FAIR!!"**

**Raven shouts, "DEAL WITH IT!!"**

**Sith growls and goes off to find another room.**

**Zero looks around and finds a room, "I guess I'll claim this room."**

**The room had a nice big window. Big enough to sit on. Zero smiles as he looks into the closest, "Epic!"**

**He then thinks on where his anime stuff would go.**

**Hikari finds a room in the basement, "PERFECT!!!"**

**Hikari then thinks of all of her witchcraft equipment and where they were gonna go.**

**Evan then finds a room that was beside Raven's room. He shrugs, "Good enough."**

**Pheonix looks around for a room, "Aw.....most of the good ones are taken!"**

**He then goes to the room that was the furthest from everyone else's, "I guess......I guess I'll take this one."**

**Coslotus then walks by Pheonix, "I'll be in here."**

**He then slams the door. Pheonix's eyes widened, "Wha?! Huh? B-but....I was gonna take this room! How come you get it?!!"**

**Coslotus then replies from behind the door, "Because it's the furthest away from everyone."**

**Pheonix sighs, "Fine. I'll go elsewhere."**

**He then walks the halls. He opens a door, "Hm....maybe this one."**

**He then sees Serenity in it. His eyes widened a little. Serenity then sees him, "Uh.....umm.....sorry. This one I kinda claimed...heh heh...."**

**Pheonix then closes the door, "Aw......this sucks!"**

**He then shouts, "CONSIDERING I DRIVE ALL OF YOU!!!"**

**Sith then finds a nice room closest to Coslotus. He looks inside. He smirks, "Punked!"**

**Sith found that this was the second biggest room in the house. He chuckles to himself, "What idiot was dumb enough to not find this room?"**

**He shrugs, "Oh well. Finders keepers."**

**Pheonix finally finds a room. He's eyes widened with delight. The room had a nice window with a couch-like shelf built into the wall underneth. Pheonix smiles, "This is soo my room!"**

**He then looks around in it. He smiles, "I guess the room arrangements worked out for the best."**

**Half an hour later, everyone meets up in the center room, which was assumed would be the livingroom. Raven asks, "Everyone find a room to their liking?"**

**Everyone nods. Pheonix says, "Yup. Took a while, but I got my room okay."**

**Sith laughs, "I managed to get the second biggest room in the house!"**

**Zero then says, "Just to let people know, I call dibs on decorating the living room."**

**Raven nods, "That's fine."**

**Serenity then says, "Aw....I wanted to decorate the livingroom. Fine, I call the kitchen."**

**Raven sighs, "Okay. You can decorate the kitchen, just don't make it too girlie."**

**Serenity chuckles, "Don't worry, I won't."**

**Pheonix then says, "As for the extra rooms, I'm making one of them into a library!"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "That'd be great!"**

**Pheonix smiles, "I know right?!"**

**Raven then says, "We're gonna have a weapons room slash training room as the basement."**

**Zero nods, "That sounds epic."**

**Hikari then says, "Stop saying that word!"**

**Zero chuckles, "Epic."**

**Hikari then punches Zero and says, "Shut up!"**

**Raven changes the subject, "Now all we need to do is rebuild some of this dump and bring our stuff here and buy new stuff."**

**Serenity then says, "How are we gonna do that? We have jobs, so the new stuff is fine. The rest we spent on this house. So...how are we gonna rebuild it? Do we save up again?"**

**Raven thinks for a moment, "Hm....good question. It seems like that's our only option."**

**Hikari jumps up and down, "Oh, oh, oh!!! I knew this would happen! I got a solution!"**

**Zero sighs, "This can't be good if HIkari has a solution."**

**Hikari's eyes narrow, "Shut up! I'm serious! I got something that'll solve all of our problems!"**

**Raven looks to Hikari, "What do you have in mind?"**

**Hikari jumps up and down with excitement, "I found the perfect thing for us!!"**

**She then stops jumping and pulls out a flier and hands it to Raven. Everyone then gathers around her as she went to read it. The flier had a picture of Rock Golems on it at some unknown site. Raven reads, "Golems have taken over the Western Area of Grimstone. If vanquished, the one(s) responsible will get a large reward for their services. Signed, **_**Mayor Gradlock**_**."**

**Raven's eyes widened as she looks to Hikari, "You expect us to face Rock Golems.......for money?"**

**Hikari nods, "Yeah."**

**Raven thinks about it for a moment. She then smiles at Hikari, "Okay.....I'll do it."**

**Hikari jumps and claps her hands, "YAY!!"**

**Zero smiles, "Alright. I'm in."**

**Sith smirks, "I could use some fun."**

**Pheonix smiles, "I'm in too."**

**Serenity sighs, "I guess....I guess I'm in too."**

**Coslotus smirks, "I could use the exercise."**

**Raven and everyone else then looks to Evan. He nods, "I'll go too."**

**Hikari nods, "YAAY!!! This is gonna be awesome!!!"**

**Raven smiles, "Team?"**

**Everyone then says in unison, "Team."**

**Raven smirks, "Let's go get ready."**

**A few hours later, Pheonix drives everyone towards the Western Area. Hikari is seen mixing some stuff in a bottle. It began to smoke and bubble. Zero then looks, "What are you making?"**

**Hikari smiles, "Just a little concoction to help us in battle."**

**Zero shakes his head, "Oh boy."**

**Pheonix then says, "We're almost there."**

**Raven grips her katana as they get closer. She looks out the window as she sees the site in view. The Rock Golems were crawling the areas in huge numbers. Raven whispers, **_**"Oh my God."**_

**Pheonix parks the jeep where it couldn't been seen. Everyone then gets out of the jeeps as Coslotus jumps down from the roof. Pheonix then opens his trunk to get everyone's equipment. Sith grabs his sythe and makes sure it's extra sharp. Zero grabs his Naginata and does the same. Hikari grabs a few small things and attaches them to her belt on her dress. She smiles, "I'm ready!"**

**Sith flips his sythe, "So am I."**

**Zero then said, "I guess I'm ready."**

**Raven then equips her katana to her side, "I'm ready."**

**Raven looks at everyone else, "Are the rest of you ready?"**

**Evan, Serenity, Pheonix, and Coslotus nod. Raven smirks, "Let's go kick some ass."**

**They all walk side by side one another. Facing what was up ahead. They formed a line side by side one another as they got closer and closer to the Golems. **

**One Golem stood up when it noticed the group. The Golem stood at least fifteen feet tall and was huge in width. Made from complete stone and nothing more. It was withered with a dark brown colour. It had a face that was crunched and hideous. Sith was the first to run out onto the area. He jumps as he swings his sythe at the Golem. As the Golem went to swing at Sith, it was too late. Sith's sythe had already went through it. The Golem then falls into two on the ground. Sith lands to his feet, smirking.**

**The rest of the Golems hear the ruckus. They all stand and look to the group. Sith smirks, "Now the war begins!"**

**The Golems then ran at the group in rage. Raven then runs in as fast as she could. She gets out her katana as it started to glow purple. She roars, "SOUL SURGE!!"**

**She then swings her katana at two Golems that charged at her. A big wave of purple came from her sword as she swung it at them. She jumps and does multiple slashes with aura surging through her sword. She lands down in a crouching position on the ground. It seemed as if the attack didn't take effect. The Golems turned around and went to go after Raven, but froze. Raven stands up and smirks. The two Golems then fall into dozens of pieces to the ground.**

**Zero runs as fast as he could as a few Golems chase him. He turns and spins his Naginata. One Golem swings his arm at him. Zero then blocks it with his Naginata. He mutters a spell and shoves him back with brute force. The Golem then goes flying back and hits at least five other Golems.**

**Zero runs as more Golems charge at him. Caught in the middle, he crouches down and puts his hand behind his back, along with his Naginata. He then jumps and spins high in the air, doing a non-stop roundhouse kick "Dragon Spiral!"**

**A big force of wind came from Zero as he spun around, causing the Golems to forcefully fly backwards like nothing. Zero lands on his feet and dives forward into a spinning motion, swinging his Naginata. More Golems go flying. Zero lands on his feet once again and looks around for anymore Golems.**

**Serenity sees a Golem begin to chase her. She shrieks and starts to run. She turns and shouts, "GAH!!"**

**She shoots fire at the Golem, burning it. The Golem steps back, but it had no effect. Serenity's eyes widened, "Oh no!"**

**As the Golem went to grab her, Coslotus ran and punched it. It then smashed into dozens of pieces. Coslotus smirks, "Hm. Fire seems to make it weaker, but doesn't kill it."**

**Coslotus then pats Serenity's shoulder and walks away. He then runs at another Golem. He grabs it's arm and starts to spin it round and round. He throws it against a cliff and it smashes into it with a big explosion of rubble.**

**Evan runs as his big sword appears in his hands. A Golem goes to punch him as he swings his sword. The Golem's fist then bounces off the blade and onto it's own head. It falls back from the impact and Evan jumps on it's chest and stabs his sword into it. It falls back completely, hitting the ground. Evan then throws his sword at another Golem. It lands into it's back and it falls foreward on it's face.**

**Hikari runs to the other side as three Golems chase after her. With each step, the ground shakes and a loud vibration is heard. Hikari turns and gasps as she was cornered by the Golems. They run at her with a loud roar.**

**Hikari closes her eyes as she thinks quickly. She shouts, "Double, trouble, boiling bubble!! I turn you all into grubble...."**

**She then opens her eyes as she quickly adds with a smile, "....and jelly!!"**

**The Golems stop in their tracks and fall into pieces and pieces of grubble with jelly leaking from them. Hikari smiles more, "Ha ha!!"**

**She then runs away towards more Golems. **

**Pheonix runs at a Golem and then punches the ground. The ground cracks as he formed a giant earthquake. The Golem falls into it and is trapped beneath the ground.**

**More Golems come running at Pheonix. He stands up and and begins to mix cold winds and water in his hands. He then shoots it at all of the Golems, making them into ice. He then runs at them and punches them. Each shattering into ice pieces.**

**Sith runs as more Golems chase him. He puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles. Sythe comes flying at his call. As soon as Sythe came close enough, Sith jumped on him. Sythe flew Sith high and around the Golems. He then slaughters them one by one with his sythe.**

**Sythe roars and shoots lightning on the lot of them.**

**Hikari runs as more Golems begin to chase her. Hikari shouts, "KIKI!!!"**

**Her broomstick appears in her hands. She then flies on it and begins to circle some of them. She laughs as she made Golems bump into one another in attempt to catch her.**

**Raven backflips as she almost gets hit by a big fist. It smashes into the ground and leaves a dent in it. Raven then runs up it's arm, "WOLF!!"**

**A wolf's spirit overlaps her body in purple aura. She growls as she began to run extremely fast. She then slices Golems that got in the way of her path. Her sword glew brighter as she slices more and more on the way.**

**Zero was getting overlapped by at least ten Golems. Hikari sees and gasps. She lands and jumps off the broom as it disappears with a poof. She thinks for a moment, "Uh....umm..."**

**She then remembered her concoction she made earlier, "OH YEAH!!"**

**She then grabs the bottle from her belt and began to run in Zero's direction. She shouts, "Use this!!"**

**As she went to throw it, she almost trips. It then goes flying in Zero's direction. Zero turns and sees, "Woah!"**

**The bottle was inches away from hitting his face until he ducked. A Golem was right behind him. The bottle then smashed into the Golem's face. The Golem screams in pain as it's face was melting from the outside into the inside. Acid it seemed like.**

**Zero's eyes widened at what just happened. He was still ducked down. He slowly turns to Hikari's direction, "W-what did you just throw at me?!!"**

**Hikari walks up to him, smiling, "Acid with a hint of salt."**

**Zero's eyes widened even more, "Th-that could've hit me!!"**

**Hikari laughs, "So? At least I got him."**

**Zero looks back at the dead Golem, shaken, "Th-that could've been me!"**

**Coslotus then demolishes more Golems with his bare hands. He cracks his knuckles when he's finally finished, "Hmf!"**

**Serenity burns more Golems and runs the other way, almost getting hit. Coslotus then saves her and destroys them all.**

**Pheonix runs as he shoots more ice at the Golems. He feels his back against something. He turns to see it was Raven. He smirks, "Just like old times, eh Raven?"**

**Raven smirks, "You're telling me."**

**They then slaughter the remaining Golems. After a few more minutes, the Golems are all vanquished. The group reunites, panting from near exhaustion. Raven smiles, "Wow. That was great!"**

**Sith cracks his neck as he falls into a sit down on the ground, "Yeah. You said it."**

**Serenity then says, "We almost got killed."**

**Zero then says, "Yeah. Me!"**

**Hikari punches him, "Oh stop it. I saved you!"**

**Zero then says, "You call that saving?! I hate to see you when you **_**do**_** try to kill a person."**

**Hikari laughs.**

**Pheonix then says, "Now let's go get our money."**

**Raven nods, "Yes! And food!"**

**Everyone nods, "Yeah!"**

**Evan looks to the ground, saddened. No one notices, as they were too busy interacting with one another. Pheonix finally says, "Let's get out of here."**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. Let's do that."**

**The group then goes back to the jeep and starts to drive to **_**City Hall**_**.**


	14. Chapter 13

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Thirteen: The Birth of Retribution**_

**The group arrives at City Hall. They all walk in to the front desk. Raven then says, "We're here to see Mayor Gradlock."**

**The secretary then looks at the group and then at Raven. She finally says, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid he's busy at the moment."**

**Raven smirks as she places the flier that Hikari gave her on the table, "Would he be too busy to find out that we exterminated the Rock Golems for him?"**

**The secretary's eyes widened. She then picks up her phone and dials a few numbers, "Sir? There's people here to see you. They claim they disposed of the Golem problem."**

**The secretary then says, "Alright."**

**She then hangs up the phone. She then says, "He'll see you on the second floor."**

**Raven nods, "Thank you."**

**The group then walks up the stairs to the second floor. The place was big. Had a huge fountian with desks, a window on the ceiling, and a nice balcony to look down upon the first floor. The second floor was nothing but offices. They finally stop at an office that read **_**Mayor**_**.**

**Raven knocks. The group here's a coughy voice, "Ahem! Come in!"**

**Raven slowly opens the door. Raven walks in to see a cyclops that was fairly built. He wore a grey business suit with black shoes. He was sitting in a big gold chair, being fanned with big feather fans by two blue, devil girls. They smirked as Raven and the group entered the room. The cyclops was smoking a cigar and had his legs crossed. His hair was a spikey, brown mohawk with a long braid at the back. He also had a darting, cold hazel eye. He takes a puff of his cigar and smirks, "Come in."**

**Everyone then walks into the room. He blows smoke from his mouth as the devil ladies kept on fanning him. He then says, "So......you killed the Golems in the Western Area, huh?"**

**This cyclops was definately Mayor Gradlock. His voice was deep and grimacing. Raven then nods, "We did, Sir."**

**He smirks and chuckles, "Nice first impression. I like that. It's hard to believe a lot like you took out an army of Golems."**

**He then shakes his head and takes another drag of his cigar. After he breathes out smoke, he then says, "Well....seeing as you're here, why not state your name and profession?"**

**Raven steps forward, "I'm Raven Corvinous. I am a Shaman and a Fighter."**

**Gradlock's eye widened. He smirks, "Corvinous? I heard of you. You're quite famous down town. I'm starting to believe you really **_**can**_** take out Rock Golems. Next."**

**Sith then steps foreward, "Sith Corvinous. Soul Hunter and Reaper Tracker."**

**Gradlock's eye widened once more. He smirks, "Both siblings? In my office? Now this is getting interesting. Next."**

**Zero steps foreward, "Zero Amano. Martial Arts Master and Spellcaster."**

**Gradlock sighs, "Not very impressive. Next."**

**Hikari steps foreward, "I'm Hikari Grimwood. I'm just a Witch."**

**Gradlock's eye widened once again. He takes another drag of his cigar, "Grimwood? Agatha Grimwood had a daughter?"**

**Hikari shakes her head, "No. I only changed my last name to hers in her honor. I was her apprentice though."**

**Gradlock smirks, "Interesting. I didn't think Agatha would ever allow someone to know what she knows. Interesting indeed. Next."**

**Pheonix then steps foreward, "Pheonix Oden. Master Elementalist."**

**Gradlock just nods, "Okay, next."**

**Serenity steps foreward, "Umm....Serenity Umber. I'm a Pyromancer."**

**Gradlock takes another drag, "Next."**

**Evan then steps foreward, "Evan Trails. Demon Hunter."**

**Gradlock sighs out of boredom, "Next."**

**Coslotus was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He didn't bother to step foreward. He then looks at Gradlock. He then says, "Coslotus Umber. I have no profession except for slaughter."**

**Gradlock smirks, "I like your attitude, creature. I like your attitude."**

**He then says to one of the devil girls, "Are they lying? Is it true they took out the Golems?"**

**The devil girl looks at the lot and smirks. She whispers in a slithery voice, **_**"Don't worry. They did. They would never lie."**_

**Gradlock smirks, "Excellent. I suppose you want your reward now?"**

**Raven nods, "It would be much appreciated, Sir."**

**Gradlock then gets up, "Follow me."**

**He then walks out of the room. The group follows and is lead to another office. Gradlock then puts his cigar out and gets out a check book. He then gets a pen and begins to write in the book, "How does $5000 sound to you?"**

**Raven nods, "Great, Sir."**

**Gradlock then hands the check to Raven. He smirks at her, "Do you guys have a name for yourselves? I **_**might**_** recommend you to other people."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Umm......"**

**Raven then says, "We.....we don't have one.....yet."**

**Gradlock smirks, "It's too bad. We could use help like you. **_**Especially**_** if they're professional."**

**Raven then says, "Uhh.....give us a few minutes. We'll get back to you."**

**Gradlock grins, "Take as much time as you need. I got all day."**

**Raven then turns to the group. They all huddle together. Raven whispers, **_**"Okay. We need a name for us. Something that means something great."**_

**Sith says jokingly, **_**"What about the Super Dudes?"**_

**Raven sighs out of frustration, **_**"Gee, Sith. Nice movie quote. NO!"**_

**Sith had got the quote from the movie **_**Mystery Men**_**. Thinking it was funny, he randomly said it. Serenity then says, **_**"What about the Team of Peace?"**_

**Raven's eyes squinted at the idea. Raven shakes her head, **_**"No. We're not hippies!"**_

**Some of the group chuckled. Zero then says, **_**"How about the Team of Epicness?"**_

**Hikari's eyes widened, "NO! NOT THAT!"**

**Raven shakes her head, **_**"Don't worry, I don't like it either."**_

**Zero then says, **_**"Alright, Hikari. You have a better name?"**_

**Hikari then says, **_**"Yes I do actually. The Night Watchers!"**_

**Zero then says, **_**"Gee....that is a better name."**_

**Pheonix shakes his head, **_**"No. It's too.....it's too......well....it's not quite there. Something's missing."**_

**Raven then says, **_**"Yeah. Our name has to be at least as good as League of Extraodinary Gentlemen."**_

**Evan then says, **_**"But that's only a movie."**_

**Raven shrugs, **_**"So? The movie was still kickass."**_

**Pheonix then thinks for a moment, **_**"I think I know the perfect name."**_

**Pheonix then says, **_**"Do you remember Watchmen, Raven?"**_

**Raven smiles, **_**"How could I forget?"**_

**Pheonix then quotes, **_**"Watchmen are over. What do you suggest we do about it?"**_

**Raven and Pheonix smirk at one another and say at the same time, **_**"Retribution!"**_

**Pheonix and Raven then say at the exact same time, "The League of Retribution!!"**

**Pheonix jumps, "AH! Orgasmic!!"**

**Raven smiles, "Definately!!"**

**Pheonix and Raven grab each other's hands and jump up and down. Everyone raises an eyebrow. Zero mutters, "What....the...fuck?"**

**Raven then asks the group, "What do you think? The League of Retribution! A.K.A......us!"**

**Hikari smiles, "I like it! It sounds cool!"**

**Zero nods, "Yeah. That sounds epic."**

**Evan nods, "Yeah. I like it."**

**Serenity then said, "Yeah....that sounds cool."**

**Sith then says, "That sounds like we're gonna kick some ass! Okay, let's use it!!"**

**Raven nods, "Okay. We're now, as of this moment, The League of Retribution!"**

**Raven then turns to Gradlock, "Okay we have a name!"**

**Gradlock chuckles, "Okay. What can I call you guys?"**

**Raven smiles, "The League of Retribution."**

**Gradlock smirks, "**_**The League of Retribution**_**. Welcome to the services of Grimstone."**

**Gradlock and Raven then shake hands.**

**That day, everyone brought all of their stuff from their old homes over to their new home. Zero then puts his house on sale after fixing his door. Hikari then put Agatha's house on sale as well. Coslotus just tore down his and Serenity's hut with his bare hands.**

**After load after load of stuff, mostly from Zero and Hikari's houses, they all sat down from near exhaustion. Raven wipes her forehead, "Man, you guys have a lot of stuff."**

**So far, Zero's couch was put in the livingroom, while everything else of his was either in his new room or the hallway. Zero sits on it as he knew Raven was referring to him and Hikari. He sighs and says, "What do you expect? Me and Hikari had our own houses to live. Heh heh, you and Sith didn't have any."**

**Raven chuckles and playfully pushes him, "Shut up."**

**Hikari laughs, "I only have a lot of stuff cause I'm a Witch."**

**Zero shakes his fist and says jokingly, "Damn you, Witch!"**

**Everyone laughed. It was starting to get dark. Everyone who didn't have a bed brought sleeping bags to the livingroom, which was Evan, Raven, and Sith.**

**Sith ended up stealing the couch. Sythe came in and slept beside Raven. Evan sighs. Raven looks, "What's wrong?"**

**Evan shakes his head, "I'm still thinking about last night."**

**Raven smiles, "Don't worry. It won't happen again. When it does, I'll lead you away alright?"**

**Evan smiles, ".....thanks."**

**Raven smiles, "No problem. Now get some sleep, we have a shit load of work tomorrow."**

**Evan nods, "Yeah. I'm beat."**

**Sith then says, "Night."**

**Raven says, "Night."**

**After everyone fell asleep, Raven woke up to something she heard. She looks to see Sith and Evan fast asleep. She then gets up and goes into the hallway. She hears the sound from her room. It sounded like a whisper. She opens her bedroom door and sees Dimus sitting in her open window. Raven's eyes widened, "Dimus...."**

**Dimus smirks, "Hello, Raven. How are you?"**

**Raven smiles as she closes the door, "I-I'm fine. And you?"**

**Dimus grins, "I'm fine. Just been lonely without you."**

**Raven giggles, "How'd you find me?"**

**Dimus smiles, "Your scent. I tracked it."**

**Raven nods, "Oh. I see."**

**Dimus nods. He then looks at Raven as he steps foreward to her, "I had to see you again."**

**Raven smiles, "And I've been wanting to see you again too."**

**Dimus then places a cold hand on the side of her face, "I've missed you."**

**Raven places a hand on his, "As have I."**

**Dimus goes in closer to Raven. He whispers, **_**"Wanna get out of here?"**_

**Raven looks around, "B-but....I'm in my pajamas."**

**Dimus looks her over. She wore loose, blood red, pajama pants with a tight black tank top. She was in her bare feet as well. He smirks, "It doesn't matter what you wear when it comes to fun."**

**Raven smiles and nods, "Well......okay."**

**Dimus then says, "I want to show you a few things anyways. Things I've shown no other."**

**Dimus then takes her hand. He leads her out the window and into the night. Raven steps onto the cold soil of the ground. Dimus then walks behind her. He begins to touch her arms, "This...maybe overwhelming at first....because you're a mortal."**

**He then runs his fingers through her hair, "Would you trust me.....if I had your life in my hands?"**

**Raven turns her head slightly to the side. She says softly, "....y-yes."**

**Dimus smirks, "Relax and hold on to me."**

**Dimus goes in front of her. He then puts a hand on her lower back. He pulls her close.....**_**really**_** close. Raven then wraps her arms around him. Dimus whispers, **_**"Hang on tight."**_

**Raven holds on a little tighter as he places both hands on her lower back, holding onto her tightly. A strong wind was felt all around them. They begin to descend into the air. Raven looks up and sees they were flying in the air. Raven looks down and holds onto Dimus even tighter. Dimus smiles at her reaction. He then looks up as they fly into the skies. They both could see all of Grimstone. Pretty lights and high buildings were seen.**

**Raven looks from the city to Dimus. It now seemed like he was on top of her in the air. Dimus looks down at her. His eyes showing passion at the same time as great restraint. Dimus smiles at her as they were flying lower. Raven smiles back at him. Dimus and Raven finally land. Dimus still held her in his arms as their feet were on the ground. Raven whispers one word, **_**"Wow...."**_

**Dimus smiles, "It was marvelous wasn't it?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. I've always wanted to fly."**

**Dimus smiles more, "Well you just did my dear."**

**Raven bites her lip and smiles at him. She then realized they were at the top of the highest building in the city. Raven gasps at the sight of the city, "Wh-where are we?"**

**Dimus smiles as he stands by her side, looking at the sight as well. Dimus then says, "On the top of Green Hill Apartments. I always come here to look upon the city when I'm saddened. I never brought anyone here.....except for you."**

**Dimus then looks at Raven after he said that. Raven's eyes widened and she looks back at him. Dimus smiles, "You're the first one I took to go flying with me as well...."**

**He then runs his fingers through her hair. Raven closes her eyes and feels warmth overwhelm her. Raven whispers, **_**"Why me?"**_

**Raven opens her eyes and looks at Dimus. He peers back at her. He smiles, "Why not you? When I look at you....I see the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. When you talk to me, I feel as if I could do anything for you. When I'm around you.....I'm content. When I'm not......I go crazy and almost lose it."**

**Raven's eyes widened even more, "So....wh-what are you saying?"**

**Dimus grabs her shoulders, "I love you! I love you, Raven! I've known it from the first time I sensed you. I just knew right away that you were the only one for me!"**

**Raven's eyes widened at his words. She then says, "H-how can you love me? You barely even know me. What do you know of me?"**

**Dimus sighs and lets go of her shoulders. He then says, "I know enough. I've been watching you from afar for a long time. Since you were seventeen."**

**Raven's eyes widened even more. She then backs away from him, "Y-you've.....been watching me....since I was seventeen??"**

**Dimus nods, "Yes. Ever since I felt your pressence, I had to be near you somehow. I was petrified of approaching you. So I had no other choice......I entered your dreams. Talking to you and seeing you. I'm sorry if you're angry at me. I don't blame you. Your generation would consider it stocking. I consider it as an obsessive love."**

**Raven was indeed angry at him for what he'd done. Her anger then goes down after hearing what he'd just said. She saw that Dimus meant every word. She didn't know what to make of it. She then looks to the ground, not knowing what to say. Dimus steps closer to her, finally breaking the momentary silence, "Do...do you love me?"**

**Raven's eyes widened and she looks to Dimus, "W-what??"**

**Dimus then goes even closer to Raven. Now face to face, Raven could see herself in his eyes. Dimus repeats himself, "Do you love me?"**

**Raven couldn't believe what was being asked to her. She felt put on the spot. She blushes a little. She starts to quiver a little. Dimus walks closer as Raven walks backwards, "You're....quivering."**

**Raven replies, "Nervous."**

**Dimus causes Raven to back up against a wall. Dimus whispers, "Still nervous?"**

**Raven nods, "Y-yes."**

**Dimus then puts a hand on her stomach, "You didn't answer my question. Do you love me?"**

**Raven blushes again, "I....I don't know. I only met you yesturday."**

**Dimus smiles, "You said so yourself....it feels as if you've known me longer."**

**Raven nods, "And I meant it."**

**Dimus' smile fades, "I....I'm sorry. I'm pushing you. The more I push, the more you drive away. I don't want that to happen. I apologize."**

**Raven nods again, "It's okay. It's no problem."**

**Dimus then looks at her, "Let's get you home."**

**Dimus then flies her home. They land on the front of the property. Raven then goes behind the big, barred fence. Dimus and Raven look at one another. Raven whispers, **_**"Thank you..."**_

**Dimus nods and whispers back, **_**"My pleasure...."**_

**Raven grips one of the bars. Dimus puts a hand on hers. They couldn't stop staring at one another. Raven was drawn in completely. Dimus was drawn in as well. They were now face to face from behind the fence. Dimus whispers, **_**"Let's find out if you love me now."**_

**He then leans in towards Raven. He places his lips upon hers from behind the bars. Raven's eyes widened. She then closes her eyes and kisses him back. Dimus holds the kiss for a good amount of time. It was tender and gentle. Dimus felt Raven's warmth and Raven felt his coldness. But she felt the warmth he brought to her from within herself.**

**Dimus finally parts the kiss. He whispers, **_**"Good night.....my lady."**_

**Raven was in a complete daze. Before she could react, Dimus left. Leaving her in a hypnotic daze. She had just recieved the best kiss she'd had ever gotten.**


	15. Chapter 14

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Fourteen: Refining One's Self**_

**Raven wakes up with a yawn. She looks to see everyone was already awake. She gets up and stretches. She then folds her blanket up and takes it to her empty room. She just throws it to the floor and then closes her door.**

**She walks the hallways, still half asleep. Pheonix walks by with a big box of stuff. He sees Raven. He says, "Look who finally woke up."**

**Raven rubs her eyes, "W-what time is it?"**

**Pheonix then replies, "It's around 1:30 in the afternoon."**

**Raven nods, "Okay...."**

**She looks around, "W-what's going on?"**

**Pheonix then says, "Well, I got up early to get the rest of my stuff from my old house and brought it here. Zero's almost done the livingroom. Heh, heh....of course he had to work around you while you were sleeping."**

**Raven rubs her eyes and chuckles, "I'm glad things are slowly getting done."**

**Pheonix nods, "Me too. Why are you so tired?"**

**Raven smiles, "Just a late night."**

**Pheonix then says, "I see. I better get this stuff to my room."**

**Raven nods, "Alright. I'll just get dressed and help someone random."**

**Pheonix chuckles, "Sounds like a plan."**

**With that, Pheonix then heads toward his room. Raven then goes back to her room. She russles through her bag and gets out some random clothes. She then changes from her pajamas to another outfit. She wore a small black tank top with a fish net shirt over it. She also wore ripped, skater jean shorts with plain slip on sandals. She then puts on her spiked dog collar along with her black gloves. The last thing she put on was her raven feather in her hair.**

**She then walks out of the room. She yawns and walks to the livingroom. She sees it was clean and almost complete with furniture and posters. Raven's eyes widened, "Wow."**

**Zero was seen standing on a step ladder, hanging another poster up. Raven smiles, "Wow, Zero. You did an awesome job!"**

**Zero climbs down, "Thanks. I'm almost finished. Just need to hang a few more things up and get some new stuff to make the room look better."**

**Raven looks around, "Yeah. It looks good. It's like we have a livingroom now."**

**The livingroom now had a couch, a rug, and a few shelves. On one shelf was Zero's television with his PS3. His games were stacked neatly on the lower shelf. Two guitar paddles were leaning up against the shelf. Another shelf was up full of Zero's dvds and a coffee table was set up in front of the couch. Anime posters were hung up everywhere you looked in the room. A side table was seen in another corner of the room with some of Zero's anime figurines.**

**Zero chuckles at what Raven said, "Yeah. It's coming along."**

**Raven then says, "I guess you don't need any help?"**

**Zero then says, "You can if you like......I just have a few things more to do is all."**

**Raven waves her hand and smiles, "Don't worry. I'll go see what else needs to be done."**

**Zero nods, "Okay."**

**Raven then walks into the kitchen. Raven's eyes widened to see it was clean as well. The kitchen had Serenity's table and chairs in it already. Serenity is seen cleaning the counters. She sees Raven and smiles, "Oh, hey! How's it going?"**

**Raven smiles, "I'm alright. You?"**

**Serenity keeps scrubbing the counters, "I'm alright. Just cleaning."**

**Raven chuckles, "Well I can **_**see**_** that."**

**Serenity chuckles, "Yeah. I just need to clean out the fridge, stove, sink, and the floors. And give this room a new paint job."**

**Raven nods, "Ah. What colour do you think would go?"**

**Serenity stops scrubbing, "Well.....I was leaning towards maybe white and then put a nice boarder on the top of the walls."**

**Raven nods again, "That sounds nice."**

**Raven then asks, "Care for some help?"**

**Serenity smiles, "Sure. Go right ahead."**

**Raven smiles, "Great."**

**She then grabs a clothe and a random spray for cleaning. Raven then says, "I'll start on the fridge."**

**Serenity nods, "Okay."**

**Raven then opens the fridge. It was dirty and smelled a little funny. Raven shakes her head, "Disgusting."**

**She then sprays it down and begins to scrub the insides. Serenity then says, "Thanks.....this kitchen **_**really**_** needs the work."**

**Raven keeps scrubbing, "It's no problem."**

**Pheonix comes in, "Raven! You still have that check?"**

**Raven pops her head out from the fridge, "Yeah. Why?"**

**Pheonix then says, "I'm gonna go spend it on supplies for fixing some of the rooms."**

**Raven nods, "Alright. It's in my pants pocket on my bedroom floor."**

**Pheonix nods, "Okay, thanks."**

**With that, he leaves the room. Raven shakes her head and chuckles. Serenity chuckles as well. They both go back to cleaning the kitchen.**

**After a half an hour or so, the kitchen was finally done. Raven sighs, "Glad that's over."**

**Serenity nods, "Yeah."**

**Serenity then goes to the hallway, "I'm gonna go see if Coslotus is doing his share."**

**Raven nods, "Alright."**

**With that, Serenity leaves the room. Raven sighs again and then walks to the hallway. She sees Evan. She smiles, "Hey."**

**Evan nods, "Hey."**

**Raven says, "Sleep well?"**

**Evan nods again, "Surprisingly, yes."**

**Raven nods, "That's good."**

**Evan then gets a good look at Raven. He then asks, "I take it **_**you**_** didn't sleep very well?"**

**Raven chuckles, "I ended up waking up in the middle of the night, that's all."**

**Evan then notices that same scent he smelled a few nights ago when he found the card Raven dropped. Evan's eyes widened a bit. He then steps closer to Raven, "Excuse me..."**

**He then smells Raven's hair. Raven's eyes widened a little. Evan leans back, "W-what is that smell?"**

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "What smell?"**

**Evan sighs, "When you went out a few nights ago....I came across a card you dropped. I smelled an unfamilar scent on it. I smell that same scent on you now."**

**Raven's eyes widened, almost forgetting werewolves have a keen sense of smell. She then says, "Let's.....let's just say I came across someone I never seen in a while.....well....sort of...."**

**Evan's eyes widened, "Sort of? Who is he?"**

**Raven's eyes widened again. He **_**knew**_** it was a him. She then said, "He's just a close friend of mine."**

**Evan sighs, "From what I smelled.....he's a vampire....a vampire that was **_**really**_** close to you last night. You reek of him."**

**Raven sighs, "It's....complicated....at least right now."**

**Evan asks, "How so?"**

**Raven looks to the floor, "He's......look....I'll introduce him when the time is right."**

**Evan then asked, "That night.....you were with him. Was it a date?"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "W-what?"**

**Evan sighs, "Was it a date?"**

**Raven sighs, "Well.....I thought of it as getting answers. I guess.....**_**he**_** thought of it as a date."**

**Evan sighs out of frustration, "Look.....just be careful, alright? I'm not gonna tell you to stay away from him....but....but I am gonna tell you that I never trusted vampires."**

**With that, Evan walks off. Raven looks at him as he leave. She sighs, feeling guilty. She thinks to herself, **_**"Was he only saying that because of what he is? Vampires and werewolves always hated each other."**_

**It was soon dark. It was a long day of work for the group. The house was almost finished. All that was left was buying new things for the house and cleaning more of the rooms.**

**Raven was in her room, sorting out her clothes. Everyone else was doing their own thing. Zero and Sith were playing Guitar Hero, Serenity was still finishing up the kitchen, Pheonix was typing on his laptop, Coslotus was laying in his bed, almost asleep, Hikari was mixing more potions in her room, and Evan was sitting in the backyard alone, thinking.**

**Raven then hears a noise. She looks to see it was Dimus. He smiles, "Hello."**

**Raven stands, "Hey."**

**Dimus walks closer to her, "How was your day?"**

**Raven sighs, "Tiring."**

**Dimus places a hand on the side of her face, "Aw....my poor baby."**

**Raven chuckles.**

**Evan smells the air outside, "Hm?"**

**He growls as soon as he realized what he was smelling was that same scent he smelled on Raven earlier. He stands up and heads towards the direction of the scent.**

**Raven then says, "We can't be seeing one another like this."**

**Dimus smiles, "Why not? It's fun."**

**Raven sighs, "I just need.....to introduce you to my friends."**

**Dimus' eyes widened at first at the idea. He then smiles and says calmly, "No problem."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "R-really?!"**

**Dimus nods, "Anything for you."**

**Raven smiles, "Thank you!"**

**Dimus smiles once more, "Just name a time and place."**

**Raven smiles, "Night Rave, tomorrow night at 9pm. My friends will be there."**

**Dimus smiles, "Alright. I'll be there."**

**With that, he kisses Raven's lips. He parts the kiss and whispers, **_**"I got to go."**_

**Raven's eyes widened, "Why so soon?"**

**Dimus smells the air, "Let's just say I smell something foul....something **_**unwanted**_**."**

**Raven raises an eyebrow as he walks away, "I'll see you tomorrow."**

**Raven nods, "Alright."**

**With that, he hops out the window. He looks around and smells the scent of a werewolf. He growls. He looks and sees Evan walking. Evan stops dead in his tracks as soon as he sees Dimus. He growls and glares at him. Dimus did the same. He then turns and runs into the shadows.**


	16. Chapter 15

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Fifteen: My World**_

**After Dimus ran into the shadows, he looked back at the house one last time and then ran off.**

**Evan looks in the direction Dimus ran. He growls, already despising this man without even an introduction. He then looks towards the direction he came from. He soon realized it was Raven's window. He growls once more as he heads back inside the house.**

**Raven looks outside, seeing nothing in sight. She sighs and slides to the floor on her bottom. Her heart was pounding wildly. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She jumps as soon as she heard a knock on her door. Raven gets up and asks, "Who is it?"**

**A voice replies, "It's Evan."**

**Raven opens the door, "Hey, Evan."**

**Evan then walks passed Raven, smelling the room. He then closes the window and growls. Raven then asks, "W-what's going on?"**

**Evan then goes to Raven and grabs her arm, smelling her again. Raven asks again, "What's going on?"**

**Evan then says, "That guy....who just hopped out from your window. That was**_** him **_**wasn't it?"**

**Raven's eyes widened. She thought, **_**"H-he saw Dimus?!!"**_

**Raven then sighs and says quietly, "Y-yes.....that was him."**

**Evan growls once again, feeling angry. He finally lets go of Raven's arm. Raven then thinks to herself, **_**"So...that's why Dimus wanted to leave...."**_

**Evan looks to the floor for a moment, and then back at Raven. He went to say something, but stopped. Raven once again felt guilty, but didn't know the reason why. She then hugs Evan. Evan's eyes widened at the sudden action. Raven then says, "I'm sorry......."**

**She then leans back and looks at Evan. She then says, "I'm gonna introduce him tomorrow. I'm gonna get the group to go out to the night club with me. I want you to come. You don't have to if you don't want to."**

**Evan looks at her. Deep down he felt a great feeling of jealousy. He then says, "Okay.....I'll come..."**

**With that, Raven smiles, "Thank you..."**

**Evan smiles back at her. He then places a hand on the side of her face, feeling her warmth. Raven's eyes widened a bit. Evan then says, "I.....I gotta go..."**

**With that, he leaves the room. Raven looks with a great feeling of concern.**

**The next day, everyone was sitting in the livingroom. Serenity looks at Raven, "So, what's up?"**

**Raven stands up, "I think we all need a night out. You know....some fun. After all the hard work we did, we deserve it."**

**Pheonix then says, "That sounds like a good idea. What do you have in mind?"**

**Raven then says, "I think we all should go to **_**The Night Rave **_**for a couple of drinks and a little bit of dancing."**

**Hikari jumps, "Okay! Let's go!!!"**

**Zero then says, "I'll go, but I'm **_**not**_** dancing!"**

**Raven nods, "I'm glad you guys like this idea. I also wanted to introduce you guys to **_**someone **_**I've met resently."**

**Sith then says, "Okay. I'll see who this person is. If I don't like him.....I punch his lights out."**

**Raven smirks, "How do you know it's a him?"**

**Sith laughs, "Pft! I know you too well, Raven. You're like a magnet when it comes to making friends with guys."**

**Everyone chuckles at Sith's remark. Raven chuckles too, "Ha ha, Sith. Very funny."**

**Sith leans back and says slyly, "Yes, it is very funny. Thanks for the compliment."**

**Raven laughs, "Yeah....and you learned that line from me, copycat!"**

**That night, everyone got ready to go out. Hikari wore a dress similar to her old one, only with spaghetti straps. Her hair was done up in one ponytail with ringlettes. She then put on dangly and spikey black earrings. She then puts on some eyeliner.**

**Serenity then curls her hair and puts on a strapless, black and white dress that was flowing and knee high. She then wears small black heels. She then puts on a pinch of makeup.**

**Zero puts on a black kimono with a dark blue sash. The collar was dark blue as well. He then puts on some wooden clogs that the japanese wore. **

**Sith then puts on a black bandana and wears a tight black t-shirt. He also wore black skater shorts with red lining. He then puts on his black skater shoes and his doggy tag that read **_**Reaper**_**. He then puts on a silver earring in his ear.**

**Pheonix then puts on a black long sleeved shirt with baggy blue jeans. He then puts on his usual shoes he always wore. He then messes his hair up a bit and puts on a chain necklace.**

**Evan just puts on a red and black, hawaiian style shirt over a white t-shirt. He then puts on brownish toned, knee high shorts.**

**Raven puts on a spaghetti strapped shirt that was nice and tight. It was black and had blood red laces on the back of it. She then puts on black skorts, a combination of shorts and a skirt. She then puts on her black hiking boots. She then puts on her spiked doggy collar and her spiked wrist bands. The last thing she does is spike up her hair again and places a raven feather in it.**

**Coslotus didn't even bother getting ready. He decided to go the way he was.**

**Everyone goes to the front door. Raven's eyes widened, "Oh my God!"**

**She starts to laugh. Serenity asks, "What?"**

**Raven points at everyone, "We're all wearing black!"**

**Everyone then looks at one another. Hikari laughs, "So we are! YAY!!! WE MATCH!!!"**

**Some of the group laughed. Pheonix shrugs, "Oh well. Let's just go."**

**Raven nods, "Okay."**

**As soon as they all got outside, Pheonix puts his arm out, "Shall we?"**

**Raven laughs, "Okay."**

**She takes Pheonix's arm and they both started to skip to the jeep. Hikari shouts, "I wanna join!!"**

**Serenity runs, "Hey, wait for me!"**

**Serenity then grabs Raven's arm and Hikari grabs Serenity's arm. They skip and start to sing a song from the Wizard of Oz. They all sing,**_** "We're.....off to see the Wizard! The wonderful Wizard of Oz! You'll find he is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz there was. If ever oh ever a Wiz there was The Wizard of Oz is one because, because, because, because, because, because.....Because of the wonderful things he does! We're off to see the Wizard.......the wonderful Wizard of Oz!!"**_

**The four began to laugh when they reached the jeep. Zero shakes his head, "H-how do you people know these songs?"**

**Hikari smiles, "Cause we're better than you!"**

**Hikari, Serenity, Pheonix, and Raven laughed.**

**Pheonix then drives everyone to **_**The Night Rave**_**. They finally arrive. Pheonix then finds a good parking spot. Everyone gets out and heads to the entrance. **

**As they went to go in, a big creature stops them. He says. "Halt!"**

**This creature had a big, spikey shell on his back and also had a sharp beak. He also had cold black eyes. A Snapping Turtle Demon. He then says, "Are you on the list?"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "**_**List?? **_**What list?"**

**The demon points to a clipboard he had, "**_**This**_** list. You have to be on it in order to get in!"**

**Raven growls, "What? That's bullshit!!"**

**The demon shakes his head, "No name! No entry!!"**

**As Raven went to say something, a voice was heard, "They're with me."**

**Everyone looks to see it was Dimus, standing there with his arms crossed. The demon's eyes widened, "D-Dimus! Th-these are friends of yours?"**

**Dimus smirks, revealing his fangs, "As a matter of fact.....they are."**

**The demon bows his head, "My apologies."**

**Sith's eyes widened when he saw Dimus. He thinks to himself, **_**"That's the same asshole that was watching me fight off Reapers not too long ago!"**_

**The demon then steps aside. Dimus looks to Raven, "Shall we?"**

**Raven nods, "Gladly."**

**Dimus and Raven walk inside, followed by everyone else. Sith walks by the demon, "Not so tough now are ya? Pussy!"**

**Sith then walks on in with everyone else.**

**Dimus and Raven then lead the group to a table big enough for all of them. They all sit down. Once everyone sat down, Raven then says, "Everyone.....this is Dimus. Dimus Nomed."**

**Raven then looks to Dimus and introduces him to everyone. Dimus shakes everyone's hand, "Pleasure..."**

**Serenity smiles as soon as he shoke her hand as did Hikari. He shakes Sith's hand and felt that he had a strong grip. Dimus let's go, "Fine grip you have there, boy."**

**Sith shrugs, "I try."**

**When Dimus got to Evan, his eyes turned cold, but still kept his smile, "Hello there."**

**Evan smirks as his eyes went cold as well, "Hey."**

**They shake hands and grip one another's hand. They finally let go as Dimus says, "It's nice to finally meet Raven's friends."**

**Dimus then sat in his seat as Evan glares at him. Dimus could smell that Evan was a werewolf. Serenity asks, "So.....how did you meet Raven?"**

**Hikari then asks, "And how long have you've known one another?"**

**Dimus turns to Serenity and smirks, "You could say we've known one another for a long time now. Years I guess you could say. We met in a place that only.....your **_**dreams**_** would conjuer up."**

**Raven chuckles at what Dimus said, as she knew exactly what he meant by that. Serenity then says, "Aww...."**

**Hikari then says, "That's romantic."**

**Sith then asks, "So....are you guys like....**_**together**_**?"**

**Before Raven got to answer, Dimus wraps his arm around her, "Yes. We are indeed. Couple of days now."**

**With that, Evan then says coldly, "Excuse me. I have to use the little boys room."**

**With that, he gets up and leaves. Knowing Evan was jealous, Dimus smirks. Serenity then looks to Raven, "Raven? You didn't tell us you were seeing someone!"**

**Raven sighs, "I.....I didn't want to tell anyone until I introduced you guys to him."**

**A catchy song starts to play. Hikari hops up, "OH! I like this song!"**

**Raven looks to Dimus. He smiles, "Go on. Have a good time with your friends."**

**Raven smiles and gets up. Serenity and Pheonix did as well. Pheonix smiles, "OH YEAH! Just like old times!"**

**As they all went on the dance floor, Raven replies, "Hell yeah!"**

**Serenity, Hikari, Pheonix, and Raven began to dance to the music. Dimus sits there and watches them. He smiles as he saw that Raven was having fun. Zero then says, "So....where're you from?"**

**Dimus turns to Zero, "I was born in Romania."**

**Zero nods, "That's cool."**

**Coslotus then says, "Must've been a vampire for a long time."**

**Dimus looks to Coslotus with a smirk. Amused that he caught on to what he was. He then says, "Yes.....I have been."**

**Sith then sighs, "So....**_**why**_** Raven?"**

**Dimus looks to Sith, "Why? She's an interesting girl. She's beautiful and intelligent. What more could a man ask for?"**

**Sith's eyes then went cold, "If you hurt her......I'll hunt you down and hurt **_**you.**_**"**

**Dimus grins in amusement, "That won't happen."**

**Sith then says, "Good. I'll make sure of it."**

**Dimus smirks at Sith as he glares at him coldly. Dimus chuckles, "I like you. You're protective and strong. No doubt hard to take down in battle. Not bad for a young one."**

**Sith smirks, "Hmf! Let's just hope we don't battle."**

**Dimus smirks, "Yes. Let's **_**hope**_** not."**

**Zero then says, "Uh......you guys aren't gonna start fighting are you?"**

**Sith grins, "No."**

**Dimus grins back, "No."**

**Raven, Hikari, Serenity, and Pheonix danced away. Hikari then says, "Wow, Raven. You're boyfriend is **_**hot**_**!!"**

**Raven smiles, "I know! It's awesome!"**

**Pheonix then says jokingly, "Now I have **_**another**_** guy to hate."**

**Raven's jaw drops and she laughs, "Oh you!"**

**She then playfully hits him. They both begin to laugh. The song finally ends. They go back to their seats. Raven asks, "Everything okay?"**

**Dimus smirks, "Oh yes. Everything is fine."**

**Sith smirks as well, "Just some guy talk."**

**Raven nods, "That's good."**

**Another good song comes on. She grabs Dimus' hand, "Come on! Dance with me!"**

**Dimus smiles, "Alright. Let's go."**

**Dimus walks on ahead. Something then occurred to Serenity. She then says, "Raven?"**

**Raven turns and leans down towards Serenity, "Yeah?"**

**Serenity whispers, **_**"Isn't it illegal to go out with someone outside your own race? I mean......he is a vampire isn't he?"**_

**Raven smirks and whispers, **_**"Not if you plan to become one."**_

**With that, Raven walks away and catches up to Dimus. Serenity's jaw drops as it started to sink in as to what Raven just said. She thinks to herself, **_**"Raven's planning on becoming.....a vampire?? NO! This can't be happening!"**_

**After a while, the group wanted to go home. Everyone walks outside. Dimus smiles at everyone, "It was marvelous to meet you all. I really do hope we do this again sometime."**

**Hikari smiles, "Yeah. We should."**

**Zero nods, "It was good meeting you too."**

**After the goodbyes, everyone heads to the jeep. Raven stays behind to say her goodbyes to Dimus. He then says, "You have nice friends."**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. I love them."**

**Dimus smiles, "I can see why."**

**He then says, "Tomorrow night......you're coming with me to a party."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "W-what?"**

**Dimus smiles, "You've shown me your world. Now let me show you**_** mine**_**."**

**Raven then asks, "What kind of party is it?"**

**Dimus smiles at her again, "It's a masquerade. Vampires only. But I'm making you an **_**exception**_**."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "V-vampires only? Sounds like fun.....but..."**

**Raven looks to the ground. Dimus raises her chin for her to look at him, "But?"**

**Raven then says, "I have nothing fancy to wear. I don't even own a mask."**

**Dimus chuckles, "Oh. That's no problem."**

**He then gets his wallet out and hands Raven a large sum of money. Raven's eyes widened, "I....I can't take this!"**

**Dimus smiles, "Please? Think of it as a gift.....only you get to pick it out."**

**Raven sighs, "Al-alright...."**

**She then takes Dimus' money. Dimus then says, "I'll pick you up at 7pm okay?"**

**Raven nods, "Okay."**

**Dimus smiles and kisses Raven on the lips. He then whispers, **_**"I love you."**_

**Before Raven went to say anything, he walks off and disappears again. **


	17. Chapter 16

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Sixteen: Masks and Mistress**_

**The next day, Raven woke up with a yawn. She gets up and goes to her room. Raven then sees Evan walking up to her in the hallway. Raven then says, "Morning."**

**Evan nods, "Morning."**

**He then stops in front of her. Raven then asks, "W-why'd you take off last night?"**

**Evan shrugs, "I needed the bathroom."**

**Raven sighs, "That's a lie."**

**Evan shakes his head, "No it's not."**

**Raven repeats, "That's a lie."**

**Evan sighs as Raven gentily places her hands on the side of his arms. She whispers, **_**"Please don't lie to me."**_

**He looks at her, "What do you want from me? I left because....because.....it pained me to see you with him!"**

**Raven's eyes widened. Evan then says, "And I already told you....I don't trust vampires."**

**With that, Evan walked away from Raven. She looks at him as he leaves. She sighs as she thought to herself, **_**"It pained him...to see me with Dimus?"**_

**Raven, Hikari, and Serenity walk into a dress shop. Hikari jumps, "I can't believe you've been invited to a **_**real**_** masquerade!!"**

**Raven smiles, "I find it hard to believe myself."**

**Serenity the asks, "Did he say it was an **_**all**_** vampire masquerade?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah."**

**Serenity sighs, "I'm starting to not trust this guy. What if he's bringing you just so you can be the main course?"**

**Raven sighs, "Dimus would never do that to me. And if he did....well he'll have another thing coming."**

**Hikari chuckles, "Yeah, Serenity. You should know of all people that Raven can kick people's asses."**

**Serenity then says, "Can she fight off a whole raid of vampires?"**

**Hikari the says unsurely, "Umm....."**

**Raven then says as she looks at a dress, "Yes!"**

**Hikari smiles, "There's your answer."**

**Serenity sighs, "Raven.....you can't always take on all these things by yourself."**

**Raven looks at more dresses, "You worry too much. Let's just have fun. That's why we came here."**

**Serenity then nods, "......okay."**

**Hikari starts to help Raven look for a dress. Hikari holds one up, "How about this one?"**

**Raven looks. It was a blood red dress. Raven shakes her head, "No. That's not what I'm looking for."**

**Serenity then starts to look as well, "What type **_**are**_** you looking for then?"**

**Raven looks through more dresses, "I don't know....something a little dark and yet.......perfect. It's hard to describe."**

**Hikari and Serenity then look more. Raven then looks up at a display wall. Her eyes widened, "Oh....my.....God!"**

**Hikari and Serenity look from the dresses to Raven. Serenity asks, "What is it?"**

**Raven's eyes were still widened. She points to the wall, "Th-that."**

**Serenity and Hikari look at the display wall. Both of their eyes widened. Raven was peering at the dress she wanted. Hikari gasps, "Th-that's gorgeous! You should buy it!"**

**Raven smiles, "I'm gonna."**

**She then goes up to the clerk and requests to buy the dress on the wall. The clerk's eyes widened when she saw Raven had enough money for it. The dress Raven had picked out was expensive beyond belief.**

**Raven now carried a big white bag with the dress in it. She still had a pinch of money left over. The girls then walk the streets. Serenity then says, "I can't believe you spent that much money."**

**Raven chuckles, "Well....technically this isn't my money."**

**Hikari asks, "Then whose is it?"**

**Raven smirks, "Dimus gave me the money last night."**

**Hikari laughs, "Nice!!"**

**Serenity gasps, "Dimus gave you **_**that**_** much money just for a dress??"**

**Raven shrugs and smiles, "I guess so. Now let's go find me a mask."**

**Raven, Hikari, and Serenity find a store with masks in the display window. Raven smiles, "Let's go in here."**

**They all do so. Raven starts to look around as did the other girls. A clerk comes up to them, "Can I help you?"**

**Raven then says, "Yes you can. I'm looking for a nice looking mask for a masquerade."**

**The clerk smiles, "We have plenty of those. What type do you have in mind?"**

**Raven then asks, "Do you have ones that come in black with a hint of gold?"**

**The clerk then says, "Right this way."**

**The girls then follow her. The clerk then tours them around. She shows the girls a few masks. She then says as she walks, "This is some of our finest work."**

**Some of the masks displayed were gruesome looking and others were pretty looking. Hikari sees a bat one, "You should get that one. It'll work for the party."**

**Raven shakes her head, "No. I need something better."**

**Serenity then sees a butterfly one, "What about that one?"**

**Raven shakes her head again, "Nah. Too girlie."**

**Raven's eyes widened when she looks upon a mask that she wouldn't even dare imagine. It was the mask of her dreams. Something that was wonderful. It was a mask with a crown of feathers, a small beak, and a gold pendant on the center of the forehead. It was a raven mask. Raven points to it, "I'll take that one."**

**The clerk looks at the mask and then at Raven. She smiles, "Very good."**

**Raven and the girls walk out of the store. Raven now carried a big white bag and a small purple bag with her mask in it. Raven sighs, "Now for one last thing."**

**It was finally dark. Raven was getting ready. It was 6:30pm. She only had half an hour till Dimus came knocking. Raven looked at herself in the mirror in the bathroom. She was wearing a long, fancy, black dress with gold patterns of curved lines all over it. She then puts on black eyeliner with black eyeshadow. She then puts on a purplish pink lipstick on. She then makes her hair extra spikey. She didn't bother putting in her usual raven feather in tonight.**

**Raven then puts on a choker with a gold pendant on it. She then puts on her black high heels, the last thing she bought. She then twirls around, making sure she looked good. She then puts on small, fingerless, fish net gloves with black ribbion tied on the wrists. The last thing she did was paint her nails pure black. Raven then looks at herself one last time,"I feel stupid."**

**There was a knock. Serenity's voice was heard, "Are you done?"**

**Raven says, "Yes."**

**Serenity then says, "Come on out. We want to see."**

**Raven sighs, "I look stupid."**

**Serenity then says, "You won't. Now stop being a chicken!"**

**Raven sighs again, "Alright."**

**She then opens the door and comes out of the bathroom. Serenity and Hikari's eyes widened. Serenity gasps, "Raven. You look beautiful."**

**Raven sighs, "Thanks...."**

**Hikari then says, "Yeah. You look awesome."**

**Raven looks down at herself, "I feel ridiculous!"**

**Serenity then drags Raven to the livingroom, "Come on. People want to see."**

**Raven pulls back, "Hell no!!"**

**Serenity insisted, "Oh come on."**

**Raven pulls harder, "I said no!!"**

**Hikari then pushes her, "Oh. It's not **_**that**_** bad."**

**Raven then gets pulled AND pushed into the livingroom by Serenity and Hikari. Everyone was sitting in the livingroom waiting to see the amusement. Raven sighs as everyone looks at her. Pheonix's eyes widened, "HOLY CRAP!!! I now wish you were my date again!!!"**

**Raven laughs as she then thinks of the time her and Pheonix went to a prom together. Zero then says, "Wow, Raven. You really outdone yourself."**

**Raven giggles and nods, "Th-thank you."**

**Coslotus just shrugs, "What's the big deal anyways?"**

**Serenity shouts, "John!!"**

**Sith then says, "You look good."**

**Raven waves her hand, "Quit with the compliments. I get it."**

**Sith then says, "Yeah guys. You're embarassing her."**

**He then picks up a guitar paddle, "Now I'm gonna have some fun."**

**Zero then says, "Okay, I'll join."**

**As they went to play a game, Evan comes right up to Raven. He sighs and smiles, "You......you look good."**

**Raven smiles, "Thank you."**

**She then hugs him. Evan smiles and hugs back, still hurting deep down. Pheonix then gets up, "**_**Ahem! **_**Where's my hug?"**

**Raven laughs, "Come here."**

**She then hugs Pheonix. He lifts her up and Raven shrieks, "Gah!"**

**Just then, there was a loud knock on the door. Raven's heart skips a beat. Pheonix finally puts Raven down on her feet. Raven then looks at Serenity. She smiles, "Good luck."**

**Raven smiles as she hugs Serenity, "Thanks."**

**Raven then says, "Later."**

**Everyone says **_**bye**_** as Raven goes to the door. She opens it and it was Dimus. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with small ruffles under the tux coat. He's eyes widened as soon as he looks upon Raven. He then smiles softly, "You look ravishing."**

**Raven blushes, "Thanks..."**

**Hikari comes behind her, "You're gonna need this."**

**Raven sees that Hikari was handing her her mask. Raven takes it, "Thanks."**

**She then turns to Dimus, who was smiling at her. He then hands her a red rose, "For you."**

**Raven takes the rose, "Thank you."**

**Dimus then puts his arm out. Raven smiles and takes it. She turns and waves to Hikari. She waves back as she closes the door.**

**Dimus then leads Raven to the foot of the driveway. There, could be seen a black carriage with a skeleton horse. Raven's eyes widened, "Cool!"**

**Dimus smiles as he opens the carriage door for her. Raven smiles as she steps inside. Dimus then steps inside with her. The driver at the front then whips the skeleton horse and they were on their way.**

**After a short amount of time, they finally arrive. Dimus then escourts Raven out and leads her ahead of them. Raven's eyes widened when she saw a huge castle. Dimus smiles, "Welcome to my home."**

**Raven gasps, "Wow!!"**

**Dimus chuckles at her reaction. He then leads her inside. Inside was big and beautiful. The ceiling was gold and there was at least two giant chandeliers made from gold and diamond. Raven gasps again, "You didn't tell me you were loaded!"**

**Dimus laughs, "You didn't ask."**

**Raven chuckles, "You're right. I didn't."**

**Dimus smiles at her as he lead her to the main hall where it all took place. There was people everywhere. Some in giant dresses and others in just bizarre outfits. Raven whispers, **_**"These people are all vampires??"**_

**Dimus smirks, "Every one of them."**

**Raven shakes a little. Dimus holds her hand tight, "Don't worry. I'll protect you."**

**Raven and Dimus then smile at one another. Dimus then places a mask on. It was a black devil mask. Raven smiles, "Nice."**

**Dimus smirks, "Thank you."**

**Dimus then puts her in a corner with a chair, "Wait here."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Umm.....okay."**

**Dimus then runs up a big flight of stairs. He then meets up with a woman with really long black hair. Her eyes were a cold green. She smiles, "Glad you could make it."**

**She then kisses his cheek. Dimus kisses hers, "So am I."**

**This woman was extremely beautiful. She wore a big, glittery black dress. She then takes Dimus' arm. He then says, "There's someone I want you to meet."**

**She laughs, "Don't tell me it's that mortal you babble on about."**

**Dimus growls as they begin to walk down the stairs, "I suggest you watch your attitude when you're around Raven, **_**Den Maco!**_**"**

**Den Maco smirks, "Please. All I wish is for you to be happy, dear brother."**

**They finally see Raven. Her eyes widened as soon she saw this really pretty woman. Dimus smiles at her, "Raven. Meet my sister, Den Maco Nomed."**

**Raven's eyes widened even more. She extends her hand out, "N-nice to meet you."**

**Den Maco smirks as she takes her hand, "Pleasure is all mine."**

**She then kisses Raven's hand. Raven's eyes widened, "Umm...."**

**Den Maco lets go of her hand, "I heard so much about you."**

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "You have?"**

**Den Maco nods, "Oh yes. He talks about you non-stop."**

**Raven looks at Dimus, "He does?"**

**Dimus pulls his collar, "Umm.....yeah."**

**Den Maco smiles, "Well anyways.....enjoy the party. I got things to attend to. Chow."**

**She then leaves and disappears into the crowd. Raven then looks at Dimus, "She's really pretty."**

**Dimus sighs, "So people say."**

**Raven asks, "What?"**

**Dimus shakes his head, "Nothing. Let's enjoy this. This is **_**our**_** night."**

**He then takes Raven's mask and gentily puts it on her. Raven smiles, "Alright."**

**Dimus smiles at her. He pecks her lips, "You look lovely. Like a queen in one's dreams."**

**Raven blushes under her mask, "Uh....umm.....thanks."**

**Dimus smiles as he takes her hand. He leads her into the crowd as the music began to play. Some of the people in the crowd looks at her, sensing her heart rate, sensing she was a mortal. Dimus then turns around and faces her. He places a hand on her waist and takes one of Raven's hands in the other. They began to twirl around to the music, the same as everyone else's dancing.**

**Dimus twirls Raven back and forth and then pulls her close. Raven picked up on the formal dance quickly, when she never knew how to before. Dimus then dips her and pulls her back up. He spins her and then lifts her up in the air and spins her. Raven gasps at the sudden action. Dimus then places her back on her feet and began to twirl back and forth with her. The music ends and people clap.**

**Dimus smiles, "You're light on your feet."**

**Raven chuckles, "Am not."**

**Dimus pulls her close and whispers, **_**"Are so."**_

**A beautiful song begins to play. It was a song with only piano and violin. It sound romantic and yet.....dark. Dimus looks at Raven and they began to dance smoothly to the music. They twirl back and forth to the music. Raven asks, "What is this song? It's beautiful."**

**Dimus smiles, "It's called **_**Unforgetable**_**."**

**Raven smiles, "I like it."**

**Dimus whispers, **_**"Me too."**_

**They continued dancing to the music. No words were spoken. He spins Raven and then pulls her into himself and began to go back to the same pattern of dancing. Dimus stares at Raven passionately, falling in love more and more with each passing second. Raven stares back, feeling warmth fluster all over.**

**Dimus spins Raven once again and pulls her back to him. Raven's dress flowed with each movement, like a flower that kept blooming over and over.**

**Dimus and Raven didn't pay attention to what went on around them, only to each other. The song finally ended. Dimus and Raven looked at one another. Dimus smiles at her. As he leaned down to kiss her, a voice calls, "Dimus! There you are!!"**

**Dimus leans himself back up and sees a woman with long, curly blonde hair. She hugs onto Dimus' arm, "I've missed you so much, my love!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened. She places her hands on her hips, "Excuse me?"**

**Dimus looks at Raven, "Don't worry. This isn't what it appears to be."**

**He then pushes the woman off of him. This woman was pretty as well. She was pale with brown eyes. She wore a big, black, silk dress. Dimus sighs, "For the last time.....I am not your love. I told you this century and I've told you the last century."**

**He then wraps an arm around Raven, "Now....**_**this**_** is my love here."**

**The woman's eyes widened. Dimus sighs as he looks to Raven, "This is Sarah Corlune. She's......well......Den Maco's friend."**

**Dimus then looks to Sarah, "Sarah. This is Raven Corvinous."**

**Raven nods and says coldly, "How do you do?"**

**Sarah looks her over. Her eyes narrow, "Dimus chose a mortal over me?! HA! That's a laugh! I bet you're not half as beautiful as me!"**

**Raven then takes off her mask and gives her a cold look. Sarah takes a good look at her, "Hm! You're not THAT pretty! Why would he choose you?!"**

**Raven replies, "Because I'm not blonde and stupid."**

**Her eyes widened. She was now angered, "Wh-what did you just say to me?!!!"**

**Raven says, "You heard me. Dimus rejected you and now he's with me. Get use to it!"**

**Sarah growls and shows her fangs, "I'll tear you apart!!"**

**As she went to attack Raven, Dimus came in front and growls, "Not while I'm around!!!"**

**Sarah gasps, "But....but she insulted me!!"**

**Dimus smirks, "It's not insulting when you're only stating truth."**

**Sarah's eyes widened at Dimus' words. Sarah then glares at Raven, "You're gonna pay for this!"**

**Raven smirks, "I'll be waiting."**

**Sarah then storms off. Dimus turns to Raven and chuckles, "I never seen her so furious."**

**Raven shrugs, "There's always a first for everything."**

**Dimus shakes his head, "You have a lot of nerve, saying those things....**_**especially**_** to a vampire."**

**Raven then says, "I'm not afraid. I'd slaughter her if I ever saw her grab onto you again."**

**Dimus eyes widened and then he smiles at her, "Strong words from a strong woman."**

**He then strokes her cheek with his hand, "I bet you really **_**could**_** slaughter her with your rage."**

**With that, he kisses Raven's lips. Raven kisses back. Dimus then puts his hands on her waist and pulls her closer. He keeps kissing her, feeling her heat. Raven then wraps her arms around him as the kiss went on. Dimus then parts the kiss. He smiles, "If it wasn't for this number of people....I'd tell you I wanted you right now."**

**Raven chuckles, "Aw....that's too bad."**

**Dimus and Raven both chuckle with one another. **

**After a long night of fun, Dimus finally brings Raven home. He escourts her out of the carriage. He then walks her to the front door. They stop and look at one another. It was silent for a few moments. Dimus takes off his mask finally and looks at her. Raven breaks the silence and whispers, **_**"What's it like?"**_

**Dimus makes a puzzled expression, "What do you mean?"**

**Raven then says, "I mean.....what's it like....to be like you?"**

**Dimus' eyes widened. He sighs, "Well....it's not what it **_**seems**_** that's for sure."**

**Dimus then says, "A life of eternity can be a life of curse. You have weaknesses that shouldn't be......and you have.....you have...."**

**Raven then asks, "What?"**

**Dimus sighs, "I've said too much."**

**As he went to walk away, Raven grabs his arm, "I'm sorry....I shouldn't have asked."**

**Dimus turns to her, "It's alright. Everyone's curious once in a while."**

**With that, he kisses Raven good night. He then whispers, **_**"Good night.....my love...."**_

**Raven whispers, **_**"Good night."**_

**With that, he turns and walks away.**


	18. Chapter 17

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Seventeen: My Fire**_

**After a few days, the house was coming together nicely. More and more funiture was added, most of the rooms were completed and the main rooms were finally fixed up. Some of Raven's room was complete. She was now able to sleep in it with her new bed.**

**Raven was painting her room. She started to paint it lilac purple. Raven went up on her tippy toes to reach the very top, but couldn't get at it. A hand then touched her hand, "Let me help you with that."**

**Raven looks with a smile. Dimus looks down at her with a smile. Raven smiles, "Thank you."**

**Dimus takes her paint brush and starts to paint the very top of the walls, "It's no trouble."**

**Raven smiles, "Still."**

**Dimus looks her over and smiles. Raven looks at herself, "What?"**

**Dimus smiles more, "You look cute."**

**Raven looks at herself again. She was wearing a black tank top with dark blue overall shorts. She crosses her arms, "Very funny."**

**Dimus keeps painting, "No....I mean it. I'm not trying to be funny."**

**Raven shakes her head as she grabs another paint brush, "Whatever you say."**

**Raven then dips her paint brush in the paint can and starts to paint another wall. Dimus keeps his focus on the wall he was working on, "You picked a nice colour. Your room is coming together very nicely."**

**Raven smiles as she keeps painting, "Thank you. I thought it'd look good at the same time as....well....not that girlie."**

**Dimus chuckles, "You despise girlie colours?"**

**Raven nods, "Very much so. But I hate yellow the most."**

**Dimus raises an eyebrow, "The colour that stands for happiness and sunshine?"**

**Raven laughs, "Yes."**

**Dimus paints a little more, "Why?"**

**Raven sighs, "I don't know. I've always been a dark person.....I wasn't much for light."**

**Dimus smiles, "I guess that's two more things we have in common."**

**Raven looks at him, "Which are?"**

**Dimus stops painting and smirks, "We both hate yellow and we're both dark people."**

**Raven chuckles as she continues to paint, "Why do **_**you**_** hate yellow?"**

**Dimus smirks, "It's too bright and happy. I'd prefer more sinister and dark. Maybe a hit of tragic with love as it's balance."**

**Raven laughs, "That must be **_**some**_** colour."**

**Dimus begins to laugh as well. **

**After an hour or so, they finally finish painting Raven's room. Raven looks, "Wow, Dimus. You did an awesome job."**

**Dimus smiles, "Thank you. I use to paint back in the Renaissance."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Y-you painted in those times??"**

**Dimus nods, "I most certainly have. I've been around for a **_**long**_** time."**

**Raven nods, "I'll say. Do you still paint now?"**

**Dimus shrugs, "Once in a while."**

**Raven smiles, "Can you show me sometime?"**

**Dimus walks right up to Raven and runs his fingers through her hair, "Of course."**

**Raven and Dimus look at one another. Dimus then leans in and kisses her. Dimus leans back to part the kiss, but Raven grabs him and pulls him back towards her. Dimus' eyes widened at the suddeness. He then closes his eyes and keeps kissing her. Raven then wraps her arms around him. Dimus then lifts her up and carries her to her bed. Dimus then places her down and goes on top of her. They both kiss one another passionately. Raven then rolls them over so she was on top of him. She pins down his arms and keeps kissing him. Dimus smirks, "Seems like you have a little bit of vampire in you."**

**Raven smirks, "You haven't seen nothing.....**_**yet**_**"**

**She then starts to kiss Dimus' neck and bites it. Dimus lets out a small vampiric growl. He then kisses Raven's cheek and began to kiss her neck. His senses grew wild at Raven's smell and taste.**

**He growls once again as he forcefully switches position. Now on top of her, he kisses her wildly. Dimus could feel Raven's heat flare up in an instant. Her heart pace was steady, making Dimus aroused. He growls again as his eyes began to glow a reddish colour. He began kissing Raven's neck again. Raven sighs out of pleasure. Dimus then senses Raven's blood flow, making him more wild-like. He then licks Raven's neck, tasting her more. Dimus' fangs grew, wanting to bite her.**

**Dimus then realized what he was gonna do. He then growls harshly and jumps back away from Raven to the other side of the room. He begins to pant heavily. Raven gasps and sits up, "A-are you alright?"**

**Raven's eyes widened when she saw Dimus' eyes and fangs. Dimus calms himself, "I'm.....fine. At that moment.....**_**you**_** weren't!"**

**Raven makes a confused look. Dimus sighs as his eyes reside to normal colour, "I almost......I almost fed off of you. It won't happen again....I'm sorry."**

**Raven then gets up from her bed and goes to him. Dimus flinches and backs away from her. His fangs still showed. Raven finally goes up to him. She begins to touch his face with her hands, "I'm not afraid. I know what it's like to lust for something and know it's wrong. I don't care if you bite me.......as long as you're with me. Don't fear me out of fear for yourself."**

**Dimus' eyes widened at her words. His fangs finally reside to normal. He then grabs Raven and hugs her tightly. He felt his heart ache with a great deal of joy and overwhelmed love. He whispers, **_**"I love you!!! I love you so much!!"**_

**Raven's eyes widened. She then closes them and hugs Dimus back. Dimus then leans back and kisses Raven softly on her lips. He then breaks the kiss and whispers,**_** "No one has ever said that to me."**_

**Raven smiles, "Really?"**

**Dimus nods as he touches the side of her face, "Yes."**

**Dimus was then reminded of something as he looked around Raven's room. He smiles, "I know it's off the subject.....but I have an idea I've been meaning to tell you about."**

**Raven looks up at him, "What?"**

**Dimus smiles, "Come on!"**

**He then grabs her hand and leads her to the window. Raven smiles, "What is it?"**

**Dimus smiles at her again, "You'll see."**

**Then there was a knock on the door. A voice was heard, "Is everything okay?"**

**Raven's eyes widened. She turns and whispers, **_**"It's Evan."**_

**Dimus smirks, "Who cares?"**

**He then grabs Raven, before she could say anything, and goes out the window with her. He then holds onto her as they flew into the skies. **

**Evan knocks again, "Raven?"**

**He then opens the door. Not caring about the room being done, he sniffs the air and runs to the window. His eyes widened when he didn't see Raven anywhere. He growls in anger and slams his fists on the window ledge.**

**He then sighs and leaves Raven's room.**

**The next day, Raven came back through the front door. Evan was waiting near it. Raven looks, "Hey."**

**Evan's eyes widened, "**_**Hey? **_**Is that all you've got to say?"**

**Raven looks around and then at him, "What?"**

**Evan sighs, "Last night. You went off with Dimus without telling anyone!"**

**Raven shrugs, "So? No one was worried."**

**Evan says in a near yell, "**_**I**_** was!"**

**Raven smiles as she steps closer to him, "I know what would make you feel better."**

**Evan backs up, "Oh no. You're not pulling **_**that**_** on me. Not this time."**

**Raven smiles and holds up a big white bag. Evan looks, "What's that?"**

**Raven gives him the bag and smiles, "Look inside."**

**Evan then looks inside the bag. His eyes widened, "What the-?!"**

**The bag was filled with money. Evan quickly closes it, "Wh-where'd you get this??"**

**Raven smirks, "Let's just say Dimus found me a new job. One that pays more and quicker."**

**Evan then smells the bag. His eyes widened. He then looks at Raven, "C'mere for a minute."**

**Raven goes to him, "W-what?"**

**Evan then smells her. He says, "I...I smell a lot of people on you."**

**His eyes widened, "You haven't been--?"**

**Raven's eyes widened. She slaps his shoulder, "N-NO!!"**

**Evan backs away, "Okay....just checking."**

**They begin to walk to the livingroom. Raven says angrily, "I would never stoop myself that low!!!"**

**The next day, Pheonix got a new phone for the house with a new number set up. Pheonix smiles, "We finally have a phone!"**

**Raven smiles, "Good. Who has our number so far?"**

**Pheonix then says, "So far.....the mayor."**

**Raven nods, "Good."**

**Pheonix then asks, "So.....how's your new job."**

**Raven smirks, "Awesome!"**

**Pheonix then says, "That's good. What's your new job?"**

**Raven sighs, "Unfortunately, part of the job description is not telling anyone what it is."**

**Pheonix makes a saddened face, "Aww....that sucks. Can't you tell **_**me?**_**"**

**Raven shakes her head with a smirk, "Nope."**

**Just then, their phone rang. Raven answers it, "Hello?"**

**It was Mayor Gradlock, **_**"Corvinous. There's trouble in the Southern Area. You're needed there."**_

**Raven says, "Okay, we're on it."**

**With that, she hangs up. Raven walks to the hallway shouting, "It's **_**go**_** time!!! We're needed in the Southern Area!!!"**

**Everyone then stops what they were doing and heads to the front door. They all head to Pheonix's jeep. They all hop inside, except Coslotus who hops on the top as usual, and Pheonix goes full speed to the Southern Area.**

**Pheonix smirks as he goes at full speed. Hikari shouts, "WEEE!!!"**

**Pheonix purposely almost crashes and laughs. Serenity gasps, "Slow down!!"**

**Raven shakes her head, "Fuck no!! This is fun!!"**

**The group then arrives at the site in no time. They all get out while Coslotus just jumps down from the roof. He then grabs Pheonix's shirt. He shouts, "Hey!"**

**Coslotus says darkly, "Don't **_**ever**_** drive like that when I'm around again!"**

**He then lets go and walks away. Pheonix straightens his shirt, "Holy crap. Over react much?"**

**They all begin to walk to the site. Sith comes beside Raven, "What are we suppose to be looking for?"**

**Raven then says, "I'm not sure."**

**They all then heard russling from behind them. Raven looks to Sith, "You hear something."**

**Sith nods as he draws his sythe, "Yeah, I did."**

**The group then turns around. Zero points, "I think it came from over there."**

**Raven then says, "Split up."**

**They all do so. They each walk alone in the area. The area was nothing but mountians and pathways. **

**Raven was alone. She then hears a shift behind her along with a growl. She then hears something behind her. Her eyes widened. She then slowly turns around. She looks up and sees something growl loudly right at her face. It stood the same height as the Rock Golems. Raven's eyes widened at the creature. It was big and muscular and it's whole body was on fire. Raven gasps and yells, "Fire Golems!!!!"**

**She runs as the Fire Golem shoots fire at her. She jumps out of the way and lands on her stomach on the ground. She gasps for air and quickly gets up to run.**

**Sith hears Raven yell. As he went to go after her, another Fire Golem jumps in front of him and roars at him. Sith's eyes narrowed, "I don't think so you fucker!!!"**

**He then swings his sythe and chops it in two with one hit. Sith then absorbs it's soul in his sythe. He then sees his arms flare up with fire. He smirks and laughs insanely as power surged through him once more.**

**Hikari runs as she gets attacked by Fire Golems. She shouts, "KIKI!!"**

**Her broomstick appears in her hands and she swings it. Massive wind then came out and blew the Golems' fire out. They went flying into a mountian and smashed into pieces. Hikari laughs and runs off.**

**Zero backflips into the air as a Fire Golem charged at him from behind. He then swings his Naginata and mutters a spell. Massive snow blew from his Naginata and onto the Fire Golem. It blew out it's fire as Zero landed on his feet. He then runs at it and kicks it as hard as he could. He then breaks the Golem into dozens of pieces.**

**Evan's sword appears into his hands. He grabs the handle and swings it at the nearest Fire Golem. Another comes at him. His eyes widened and he throws it at them. He misses as it jumps in the air to dodge it. Evan's eyes widened, "Shit...."**

**As soon as the Golem landed on it's feet, Evan runs passed it and grabs his sword, which was stuck on the side of a mountian. He tries to pull it, but it wouldn't come out. Two Fire Golems then run at him. Evan then uses all of his strength and finally pulls out his sword. He swings it as a Fire Golem jumped at him. He slices it in two as the other charged at him. Evan then runs and slides on his knees and swings his sword. He hits the Fire Golem and vanquishes it.**

**Coslotus runs at a Golem and jumps on it. He roars as he was getting burned at the same time as recieving energy. He then grabs it's head and begins to drain it's life force.**

**Serenity runs away as three Golems were chasing her. One throws fire at her. Serenity turns and catches it, absorbing it. She then powers it up with more fire, only this time it was from her. She then throws it at the Golem as hard as she could. She then hits it and it goes flying backwards into all of the others.**

**They all fall with a loud thud. They all get up. Serenity's eyes widened, "Oh no!"**

**She then stops and looks down. She smirks and turns around, facing the Golems. They all charge at her. At the last minute, Serenity jumps out of the way. All of the Golems fall off a cliff and land in a lake, killing them. Serenity gets up and looks down. Serenity chuckles, "Sorry to put your fire out. Not."**

**Pheonix jumps up high and forms mist in his hands. It soon turned into water. He then blasts a load of water at at least five of them. They all fall dead. After landing back on his feet, Pheonix then adjusts his hat.**

**Raven runs as a whole army was chasing her. She stops and turns as she got ready to draw her katana. As they got closer, Raven crouches down at the ready. She closes her eyes and concentrates. As they were inches away from her, she jumps in the air and spins around really fast. A purple aura then explodes from her. She roars, "Surging Sorrow!!"**

**All of the Fire Golems then seemed to be running in slow motion. They all slowly go flying back. As that happened, all of their souls popped out from their bodies. The aura then cuts them all in half. The aura then disappear as soon Raven landed on her feet. The Golems then landed right on their backs with a really loud smashing sound.**

**Raven smirks and walks away like nothing happened. The group then reunites. Pheonix sighs, "Well....that was easy."**

**Zero then says, "A little too easy."**

**Hikari smiles, "Either way. It was fun!"**

**Everyone then heard cracking sounds. Serenity gasps, "What's that?"**

**Raven then said, "I dunno."**

**After she said that, the ground below them then opens up and makes them all fall. Everyone screams as they all fell into a black and dark hole.**


	19. Chapter 18

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Eighteen: The Belly of the Beast**_

**The group falls, having their screams echo throughout the hole. As they fell further, four tunnel slides were seen. Serenity and Hikari fell in one. Coslotus and Sith fell into another. Pheonix and Evan fall into another one. Zero and Raven then fall into the last one.**

**Serenity and Hikari fly out from the tunnel and land on the ground hard. Serenity gasps as Hikari mutters, "Ow."**

**They both sit up. Serenity coughs, "Are you alright, Hikari?"**

**Hikari stands, "Yeah, I'm alright."**

**Serenity finally stands up as well. She looks around, "Wh-where are we?"**

**Hikari looks around. Everything was made of grey ancient stone. There was one big entrance way in front of them. Hikari then says, "I think this is an ancient temple of some sort."**

**Coslotus goes flying out from the tunnel, face first into the stone floor. He growls and raises himself up. Sith swings his sythe on the wall, causing him to slide down more easy. He then slides out and lands on his feet. Sith laughs when he sees Coslotus, "Wow....you really took a dive on that one!"**

**Coslotus stands and glares at Sith, growling. Sith covers his mouth, trying not to laugh. Coslotus growls, "Instead of being foolish, we should find the others."**

**Sith sighs, making his laughter go away. He then says as he walks on ahead, "Don't worry. We'll find them."**

**Pheonix lands on the ground on his stomach. Evan then goes flying into a wall, back first. He slides to the floor, growling, "God.....dammit!!!"**

**Evan gets up, feeling pains from the impact of hitting the wall. He gasps and cracks himself.**

**Pheonix gets up, trying to regain his breath. He then looks up finally, now realizing their surroundings, his eyes widened, "Woah! We're in a temple!"**

**Evan grunts in pain, "**_**Big**_** deal. I'm in a great amount of pain."**

**Pheonix shakes his head, "So am I."**

**Evan shakes his head, "Not as much as me. You didn't just bash into a wall."**

**Pheonix then says, "Well whining isn't gonna help. Let's go find the others."**

**Pheonix then walks ahead. Evan catches up, regaining his strength. He then pulls out a cigarette from his pocket, places it in his mouth, and lights it. Pheonix looks, "What're you doing?"**

**Evan grunts, "Smoking. What's it look like?"**

**Zero goes flying onto his back on the ground as his Naginata goes flying. Raven goes flying and lands right on top of Zero as her sword went flying as well. Zero groans in pain, "Oww...."**

**Raven gasps and raises herself up a bit, "Ooh.....I'm sorry."**

**Zero grunts, "It's fine. Are you okay."**

**Raven looks down at him and nods, "Yeah, I'm fine."**

**Zero smiles a bit, "I'm glad."**

**Raven gets up and helps Zero up. He raises up and groans in pain, "Gah...."**

**Raven gasps, "Are you alright??"**

**Zero nods, "I'm alright....."**

**Raven then says, "Don't move."**

**Zero then says, "Alright."**

**Raven then goes behind Zero. She then places her hands on his back. She then says a few words in a different tongue. Her hands began to glow green. The green aura then goes right into Zero's body. Zero's eyes widened as he arches himself back, "Gah!"**

**Raven goes in front of him, "Better?"**

**Zero adjusts his shoulder, "Yeah. Thanks."**

**Raven hugs him, "I don't like you hurt."**

**Zero hugs back, "Aww.....I don't like you hurt either."**

**Raven looks up at him and smiles. Zero looks down and smiles back at her, "Let's go find our weapons."**

**Raven nods, "Okay."**

**They then search around the room for their weapons, Raven being on one side and Zero being on the other. Raven smiles when she found Zero's Naginata. Raven calls over, "I found your Naginata."**

**Zero smiles, "Epic. Now all we have to do is find your sword."**

**He then looks down, "Which I've found now."**

**Raven chuckles as Zero picks up the katana. They walk over to one another, holding each other's weapon. Raven hands the Naginata to Zero, "Here you go."**

**Zero takes it, "Thanks."**

**He then hands Raven her katana, "I should teach how to use a Naginata sometime."**

**Raven takes her sword and smiles, "I'll teach you some **_**real**_** sword play in return."**

**Zero smiles, "Sounds epic. Now where are we?"**

**They both look around. Raven then says, "Looks like a temple."**

**Zero looks around and sees two entrances in front of them. He sighs, "Oh boy. We're lost."**

**Raven says, "Not yet."**

**She then closes her eyes and concentrates. Zero asks, "What're you doing?"**

**Raven then says, "I'm psychically linked to Sith, Sythe.......and Evan. I'm gonna see who's closer."**

**Zero's eyes widened, "Sythe's down here too?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. He's down here somewhere. He seemed to have followed one of us when we fell."**

**Zero nods, "Ah. Do you know who's closer now?"**

**Raven opens her eyes. She smiles, "Sythe and Evan are closer."**

**She then points at the left entrance, "That way."**

**Zero then says, "Okay. You're the leader. Lead the way."**

**Raven smiles as she walks into the entrance with Zero by her side.**

**Serenity and Hikari keep walking. Serenity sighs, "We don't even know where we're going."**

**Hikari smiles, "I do."**

**Serenity looks to her, "You do?"**

**Hikari nods, "Yup. I'm following the nearest aura of our group."**

**Serenity asks, "Whose?"**

**Hikari smiles, "Sith's and Coslotus'."**

**Serenity smiles, "We're close?"**

**Hikari says, "Not...really. But they're the **_**closest**_**."**

**Serenity sighs, "Well....at least it's better than nothing."**

**They stop in their tracks as they heard a growl up ahead in the darkness. The girls both gasp and stop. Up ahead.....a pair of big, glowing red eyes could be seen. Serenity whispers, **_**"Wh-what is that?"**_

**Hikari shakes, **_**"I don't know. Something big?"**_

**Serenity sighs, **_**"Gee....that helps."**_

**A pair of white sharp teeth could be seen. It then steps out and roars. The girls scream and begin to run back the other way as the big creature ran from the darkness and began to chase them.**

**Sith and Coslotus keep walking. Coslotus then says, "You don't know where we're going do you?"**

**Sith shakes his head, "Nope. Not a clue."**

**Coslotus sighs, "Aren't you linked to Raven?"**

**Sith nods, "Yeah."**

**Coslotus sighs in frustration, "You can use **_**that**_** to find her."**

**Sith laughs, "Oh yeah. Right."**

**Sith then stops and closes his eyes to concentrate. He then opens them, "Hey....Sythe's here too."**

**Coslotus raises an eyebrow, "So?"**

**Sith laughs, "He knows people's scent. He can help us. Besides, he's the closest."**

**Coslotus sighs, "Fine."**

**They then walk on ahead, with Sith leading the way. They stop and here a thumping noise. It came from behind them. They both turn around to look. Both of their eyes widened when they saw a giant Cerberus standing there. It growled at them, with all three jaws drooling for hunger.**

**Pheonix and Evan walk on ahead. Evan then takes a drag from his cigarette, feeling his pains going down. Pheonix shakes his head. He then walks ahead of Evan. **

**Evan shrugs, "What?"**

**Pheonix then says, "Sorry....I don't want to breathe in your smoke."**

**Evan shakes his head, "Fine."**

**He then puts it out by rubbing it against the wall. He then throws it away. Pheonix stops. Evan goes up to him, "What is it?"**

**Pheonix then says, "Something's in here."**

**Evan then smells the air, "You're right."**

**Pheonix then says, "Brace yourself."**

**Evan waves his hand, "Relax."**

**Pheonix's eyes widened, "Why?"**

**He then walks on ahead. Something then jumps at Evan. It then licks the side of his face. Evan chuckles. Pheonix runs to see it was a giant cybertooth tiger. Evan smiles, "See? It's only Sythe."**

**Pheonix then said, "Ooh! That's sudden."**

**Sythe then jumps onto all fours off of Evan and nudges his head. Evan then says, "Sythe wants us to follow him."**

**Pheonix smiles, "He can lead us to the others."**

**Evan nods, "Exactly!"**

**Sythe then runs on ahead. Evan and Pheonix follow. Sythe stops and growls. Evan sniffs the air. He shouts, "Get back!!"**

**They all jump back as two big creatures land right in front of them. They each had two heads and armour, holding a club. Pheonix growls, "Twin Haidens!!!"**

**Evan looks to Pheonix, "What the hell are those?!"**

**Pheonix then says, "They're twin headed creatures that guard temples and have massive strength! Worse than a Cyclops and Minotaur combined!!!"**

**Evan mutters sarcastically, "Great."**

**Raven and Zero keep going. They enter into a giant chamber with a waterfall. It was gorgeous. Ahead of the two was a fairly large bridge. At the bottom, a pool that the waterfall was pouring into could be seen. Raven smiles, "Wow."**

**Zero nods, "Yeah."**

**They then start to walk on the bridge. The two then heard a giant hiss. They both look at one another. Zero asks, "What the hell was that?"**

**Raven shrugs, "I dunno."**

**They then heard a big crashing sound. They look to see the wall near the side of the bridge was broken. Red eyes was glowing at them, LOTS of them. Raven and Zero back up a bit, gripping their weapons. The hissing sound was coming from whatever creature lerked within the hole in the wall.**

**Hikari and Serenity keep running and screaming. They were being chased by a giant T-Rex. Serenity gasps as she turns around and shoots fire at it. The fire landed in the T-Rex's eyes. It roars in pain and shakes his head over and over again.**

**Hikari turns and shouts again, "KIKI!!!"**

**Her broomstick once again appears. She runs at the T-Rex and begins to hit it over and over again. Serenity smiles and runs to the other side of the Rex. She then shoots fire at it. She then lights her whole body on fire, making her attack stronger. **

**Hikari then mutters, "I look at you and I think **_**curse**_**.........make my next hit hurt even **_**worse**_**!!"**

**She then hits the Rex in the face. It goes flying back with great force right into a wall. It left a gigantic hole. Hikari smiles, "There's our way!"**

**Serenity's fire resides. They both smile at one another for their teamwork. They then run into the hole in the wall, getting closer to their team members.**

**Sith and Coslotus smirk at one another as the Cerberus was getting ready to attack them. Coslotus then jumps forward and lands on the middle head. It tries to shake him off, but couldn't. Sith goes to swing his sythe, when two more came running at him. Sith jumps back, "Woah!"**

**He then runs and lets the other two Cerberus chase him. He then runs up a wall and backflips onto one of their backs. He then stabs the middle head with his sythe. Sith smirks as the creature falls dead instantly.**

**Coslotus then drains a Cerberus' energy. It whines in pain. Coslotus smirks, "Yes! Give me your energy!!!"**

**Sith then drains his kill's powers through his sythe. He then looks to the last one coldly and smirks evily. He then jumps with a swing. He cuts it in half and absorbs it's soul. Sith lands on his feet and smirks as Coslotus drains every last drop of energy, finally killing the Cerberus. The two smirk at one another evily. They then start heading to their next destination.**

**Evan and Pheonix then run from the two Haidens. Sythe then attacks one of them. He then electracutes it, weakening it. Pheonix then runs at the Haiden and conjuers up fire and ice in both hands. He then blasts it at the Haiden and makes it explode.**

**The other Haiden was chasing Evan. He jumps, "Shit!"**

**It swings it's club at him. Evan barely dodges. His big sword appears. He blocks the next hit and pushes it back. Evan then swings his sword, but misses. He shouts, "FUCK!!"**

**The Haiden laughs and swings at him again, only this time he knocks Evan's sword from his hands. Evan's sight began to blurr, he couldn't see straight, "Wh-what the-??"**

**Sythe then jumps on the Haiden's back, biting it. The Haiden then throws Sythe back. As Pheonix went to attack, a voice was heard, "SOUL WEAVER!!!"**

**A big blade of wind came crashing through a wall and hits the Haiden dead on, cutting it in half with blood splattering. Pheonix looks to see Sith and Coslotus standing there.**

**A long head snaps out from the wall and almost hits Raven. She jumps to the side, "GAH!!"**

**Zero's eyes widened, "What the fuck is that??!!"**

**As Raven was about to get hit, she jumps and yells, "Hydra!!!"**

**The thing finally came out from the wall. This thing had a least ten snake heads. Zero dodges as they attack, "Woah!!"**

**Half of the heads snap into Zero's direction. Zero jumps and kicks them all. They snap up in the air. Zero then swings his Naginata and cuts one of their heads off.**

**Raven then runs and swings her sword, cutting a few heads off. The heads then grew back with twice the number. Zero's eyes widened, "You didn't say they could do **_**that**_**!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "I forgot they could do that!"**

**They both jump away from the Hydra's attacks, "Nice time to forget!!!"**

**Raven shouts, "Oh shut up!!"**

**They both jump off the bridge, nearly dodging the Hydra's last attack. It then smashes the bridge instead, destroying it. Zero and Raven then land into the pool of water.**

**The Hydra then looks down. Zero and Raven shout at the same time, **_**"Shit!!!"**_

**They both dive under water to avoid the Hydra's attack. Raven drops her sword. As Raven went to get it, a Hydra's head goes in front of her. Her eyes widened as she tries to swim to the top. Zero then stabs it in the center of the head with his Naginata, saving Raven.**

**They both swim to the surface. They both gasp for breath. Zero then asks, "Any ideas??"**

**Raven nods, "I've got one."**

**The Hydra then attacks with all of it's heads. Raven and Zero jump back high into the air. They land on the shore. Raven then asks, "You know any lightning spells?"**

**Zero replies, "One."**

**Raven says firmly, "Use it!!"**

**They both begin to form lightning in their hands. They then place their hands together, making the attack bigger. The Hydra sees and charges at them, with all of it's mouths open. They both scream and shoot their attack at the Hydra, causing it to explode. Blood and guts flew everywhere. Zero and Raven smile. They look at one another. Zero laughs, "You're drenched."**

**Raven laughs, "So are you."**

**Raven then gets her sword back and they begin to head in the direction where the others were.**


	20. Chapter 19

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Nineteen: Escape With Hova**_

**Evan's sight goes back to normal. He then shakes his head to snap out of it. He then sees Coslotus and Sith. He raises an eyebrow, "Where'd you guys come from?"**

**Sith then puts his sythe over his shoulder and points with his thumb behind him, "From the wall over there to save your ass."**

**Sythe then comes up to Sith and purrs. He pets his head, "Hey, boy. Good job."**

**Pheonix asks, "On what?"**

**Sith answers, "Guiding you guys towards us."**

**Pheonix raises an eyebrow, "Oh."**

**Sith then asks, "Are you guys alright?"**

**Pheonix nods, "I'm alright."**

**Sith looks to Evan, "And you?"**

**Evan shakes his head and sighs, "I'll be fine."**

**Pheonix then he looks to Evan, "I'm curious as to why you didn't kill the Haiden when it came after you."**

**Evan then looks at Pheonix and then everyone else. They were looking at him, waiting for his answer. He sighs, "My sight went blurry for a second. I didn't know why."**

**Sith then goes right up to Evan. He looks to Sith with a raised eyebrow, "W-what?"**

**Sith then looks at his eyes. He begins to examine them, adjusting Evan's eyelids with one of his hands. Evan backs up, "Woah, kid! What're you doing?"**

**Sith then says darkly, "It's gonna be a full moon this week. I suggest you be careful."**

**With that, Sith turns and walks away. He then says to everyone, "Time to move on. Let's find the others."**

**Evan sighs out of frustration. Coslotus stares at him as he walks passed him. **

**Serenity and Hikari keep walking. Serenity asks, "How much further do you think it is?"**

**Hikari replies, "Not far. Sith and Coslotus found Evan and Pheonix."**

**Serenity smiles, "That's good."**

**Serenity then frowns, "But.......what about Raven and Zero?"**

**Hikari then says, "Their the furthest away right now. They're not even close to us. But they're alright though."**

**Serenity sighs, "That's good to hear."**

**Hikari stops, "Quiet. I hear something."**

**Serenity stops in her tracks. She then whispers, **_**"What is it?"**_

**The girls both jumped out of surprise when they heard voices from around the corner. They slowly walk towards it as the voices got louder. Suddenly, something snapped around the corner and was about to to hit them.**

**The girls jumps, **_**"Gah!"**_

**Hikari and Serenity look to see it was Sith with his sythe at the ready. Coslotus, Evan, and Pheonix come behind Sith. Hikari laughs, "Oh, it's only you guys."**

**She looks to Serenity, "Told you they were close."**

**Serenity smiles, "Good call."**

**She then sees Coslotus, "Coslotus! Are you guys okay?"**

**Coslotus nods, "Yeah. We're fine."**

**He then sees it was just the two of them. Coslotus asks, "Where's Raven and Zero?"**

**Serenity frowns, "We.....we haven't found them."**

**Sith sighs, "Then let's get looking."**

**With that, he walks passed the two girls into the way they came from.**

**Raven and Zero keep walking. Zero asks, "Are you sure you know where we're going?"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah.....I do."**

**Zero looks around, "How? You never been in this place before. Have you?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "No. I already told you. I'm linked to Sith, Sythe, and Evan. From what I feel, they found one another. So that's three birds with one stone."**

**Zero's eyes widened, "Oh yeah. You're psychic."**

**Raven chuckles, "Yeah."**

**They walk into a large hallway made from stone. Raven and Zero look around. Zero then asks, "Do you know if we're getting any closer?"**

**Raven nods, "We're getting close.......just not close enough."**

**Zero sighs, "That sucks."**

**Raven agrees, "Indeed it does."**

**Raven then looks to the floor, thinking of Dimus. Her eyes then deepen with concern. Zero looks to her, "Are you okay?"**

**Raven nods and smiles at Zero, "I'll be fine."**

**Zero nods, "Okay. Are you sure?"**

**Raven just nods and says no word. They both stop when they hear a loud crack. Raven whispers, **_**"Did you hear that?"**_

**Zero nods, "Yeah."**

**Raven then gets out her katana as Zero got out his Naginata at the ready. Raven and Zero slowly begin to step forward, not making a sound with their footsteps. The loud cracking was heard again. They both stop to see a big open door. The sounds had came from there. Raven and Zero quietly walked to the doorway. They both stop to see a huge room with a throne. Their eyes widened. **

**Their eyes didn't widened at the look of the room, but what stood inside the room.**

**Standing in the room was fair sized skeletons. Each with armour and weapons. An army of darkness. The army then saw Raven and Zero. They all roar demonically and all run at the two. Raven and Zero both gasped, **_**"Gah!!"**_

**They both jumped out of the way as at least five of the army smashed into a wall. The wall bursted open as soon as the skeletons fell into it. Raven gasps, "This.....isn't good."**

**Zero looks to Raven and says sarcastically, "No. Do you think?"**

**Raven then glares at Zero.**

**Sith and the others keep walking. Serenity asks, "How much further?"**

**Sith says, "Not far. Just need to get through these walls."**

**Serenity asks, "What do you mean?"**

**Sith stops and turns to everyone. He slaps on the wall to his left, "Through here.....we can get to Raven faster."**

**Coslotus cracks his knuckles, "Move out of the way."**

**Everyone does so. Coslotus then punches the wall at full force. An explosion of rubble came out of the other side. Coslotus then steps into the wall. On the other side, it was a huge room with three doors and a giant balcony above. At two of the corners of the room were big pools of water. **

**Coslotus smirks, "There we go."**

**He then turns to the others. They all step through and look around. Hikari smiles, "Cool."**

**Evan stops as he smells the air. He looks around, "We're not alone."**

**Everyone looks, **_**"Huh?"**_

**Everyone then started to look around. Pheonix finally says, "There's no one here."**

**Just then, loud cracking sounds were heard. They all turn to see tons and tons of skeleton soldiers coming out from the three doors. They all stand in a line and point all of their weapons at them. Pheonix's eyes widened, "Oh God."**

**Hikari smiles, "This is gonna be fun!"**

**Serenity sighs and says sarcastically, "Oh great."**

**Coslotus smirks and cracks his knuckles again. Sith smirks and cracks his neck. Sythe steps forward and lets out a huge roar. Evan's big sword appears in his hands. He then goes into a fighting stance.**

**Zero and Raven fend off the army that tried to get them. Raven uses her sword to slice them up. Zero uses his Naginata. He then kicks one and makes it go flying into all of the others, causing them to all fly back. Raven and Zero then both run into the throne room. They both turn and see the army chase them again. Raven and Zero look at one another. They both nod and begin to fight them off together.**

**Raven jumps back, "Gah!"**

**As one was about to hit Raven, Zero stands in front and hits it with his weapon. The skeleton then flies into pieces. Raven smiles at Zero. He then smiles back at her.**

**Raven's eyes widened when she sees another skeleton came at Zero with a sword. She then grabs Zero's arm and pulls him towards her. They both spin around and Raven chops the skeleton in two. Raven gasps, "That was close."**

**Zero chuckles nervously, "Y-yeah."**

**They both turn to see more of them running at them with their weapons at the ready.**

**Sith runs along the sides of the walls and hits them with his sythe. He then lands on his feet and glares at the soldiers surrounding him.**

**Sythe then attacks a few and shoots lightning at them. He roars and claws the nearest enemy in half.**

**Serenity shoots fire all around her, preventing the skeletons from even touching her. She then runs away from a few. She turns and sees more. She then shoots her fire at them. They burn up and go flying back, landing in one of the pools of water.**

**Hikari makes her broomstick appear. She then flies around the room. She then says a few things under her breath and starts to shoot out bright, sparkling lights. They almost looked like fireworks. The attack then hit every skeleton in it's path. Hikari smirks and laughs, "Ha ha!!"**

**She then lands onto the balcony. She gasps when she sees that she was surrounded.**

**Coslotus then bashes two skeletons together. He then punches a load at a time, hitting everyone that came at him. He then cracks his neck and starts to bash more skeletons. He breaks one's skull and makes it go flying into another pile of enemies.**

**Pheonix makes ice in his hands and shoots it at the skeletons. He then makes a big force of wind and blows most of them away. He then makes a small tornado in one corner of the room. He jumps into it and allows himself to spin. He then grabs two skeletons and spins with them. The tornado stops and he throws them across the room, hitting more and more.**

**Evan then jumps high in the air and lands on a few enemies, swinging his sword. He then spins himself in a circle, swinging his sword. He then swings it again, only this time, a big wave of blue aura come out of it. He shouts, "Wolf's Cry!!"**

**The aura turns into a pack of wolves made out of blue aura. They howl and run at the soldiers. They all disappear and turn into a big wave, wiping half of them out. As the enemies were being wiped out, loud howling was still heard from it.**

**Raven looks and sees five more skeletons coming at her with swords. She then blocks them with her own sword. They then started to push her back with their brute force. She was then thrown back into the air. Raven yells, "Gah!!"**

**She then goes flying across the room. As Zero was fending off more enemies, he turns and gasps. Raven then lands right into him, causing them both to fall hard into the ground. Raven gasps when she had the wind knocked out of her.**

**She forcefully makes herself stand. Zero grunts in pain and stands. He then says, "Are you okay?"**

**Raven grunts, "Peachy. Yourself?"**

**Zero sighs, "The same I guess."**

**Raven sighs, "Geez. Everytime we slaughter some, more and more come back!"**

**Zero says, "Yeah. Why is that?"**

**Just then, the army began to run at them again. They all had their swords out, ready to slaughter them. Raven then pushes Zero, "Look out!!!!"**

**Zero then goes flying onto the ground as Raven takes the full force of the army. The army then makes Raven go flying. She then flies right into a wall, leaving a giant hole in it. Zero's eyes widened at the sight. He then holds out his arm, "RAVEN!!!!"**

**Raven lands right onto the hard floor on the other side of the wall. She then rolls over and coughs up blood. She then looks up and sees the rest of her friends fighting off more of the army. Her eyes widened. She then looks to see more come at her. A big wave of wind slaughtered them. Sith comes running to fight them off, "Bout time you showed up!!"**

**Raven slowly gets up, "Well....sorry. I had my **_**own**_** little problems!"**

**Sith smirks, "Glad to see you."**

**He then continues to fight. Raven then sees more come at her. She then blocks it with her sword with one hand. She then throws them back and runs. She then feels a pain to her side. She looks down and sees a stab wound from a sword. She grunts and turns to fight off more enemies.**

**Zero runs through the wall and sees everyone. He smiles, "Yeah!"**

**He then starts to fight off more enemies as well.**

**More and more came piling into the room. The group then backs up into one another. Hikari jumps from the balcony and joins them. She smiles, "Raven! You're back!"**

**Raven then says, "Save that for later!"**

**Serenity looks around, "There's too many of them!"**

**Sith smirks, "I'll fix them!"**

**His sythe then began to glow a bright red. He growls as massive wind starts to form on his sythe. As he went to swing it, gunshots were heard. Sith stops, "Huh?"**

**The group looks around. Pheonix mutters, "Wh-what the-?"**

**They all look around and hear gunshots again. Some of the skeletons then go flying. Everyone then looks up and sees a man jump down from the balcony, shooting double guns. He had spikish dirty blonde hair and wore a long red scarf on his neck. He also wore a white muscle shirt with a vest and baggy pants. He then lands on his feet and starts shooting away at the skeletons. **

**He then reloads his two handguns and spins them in his hands and smirks. Hikari looks, "Wow. Now **_**that's**_** hot!"**

**Zero looks over to Hikari, "You think a guy with a gun is hot?"**

**Hikari smiles, "Yup!"**

**Zero shakes his head, "You're evil!"**

**Hikari laughs, "Yay!"**

**The man with the guns then began to shoot away again. Raven then swings her sword, "Don't just stand there! Let's help him!!"**

**Everyone then does so. They began to fight off the army once again. Serenity then gets cut on her arm. She holds it, "Ow!"**

**She then shoots fire at the one that cut her. She then runs and begins to fight them off. One then came at her with two short dagger-like swords. Serenity sees and burns him away. She then grabs them, "I'll take those."**

**They both had black handles with a big red ruby in the center of each of them. Serenity smiles, "Cool. I'm soo keeping these!!"**

**She then sees more come at her. She then began to swing her new weapons at them, slicing their bones with each hit. She then rams one and stabs it's skull.**

**Coslotus began fighting and punches every skeleton that came his way. He then backs up and uses his wings to stab most of the skeletons that came after him. He then hits something as he backs up.**

**The newcomer then reloads his guns once again. He then backs into something behind him. He quickly turns around and points his gun.**

**As soon as Coslotus felt something behind him, he quickly turns around and puts his claws at the ready.**

**The newcomer and Coslotus found themselves facing one another. The newcomer had his gun at Coslotus' head while Coslotus had a claw on his throat. Both of their eyes widened as soon as they saw one another. The newcomer smirks, "You!"**

**Coslotus growls, "You again!"**

**The newcomer laughs, "I didn't think I'd see **_**you**_** here. Who'd thought?"**

**Coslotus growls again, "Seeing you again was the last thing I needed."**

**The newcomer smirks, "Let's save the shit for later and deal with this one."**

**Coslotus nods, "Agreed."**

**They then both turn away from one another. The gun slinger smirks once again, "I just hope you can keep up."**

**Coslotus snorts, "Just stay out of my way!"**

**They both start to run opposite directions and fight. The gun slinger then looks to the door on the right. He then shouts, "This way!!"**

**He then runs to the door. Everyone shrugs and follows. Sith was the last one behind. He then turns and swings his sythe. A big red wave of energy came from it. He growls, "Reaper's Fury!!!"**

**The wave then wiped out more than half of the army. Sith then turns and catches up to the others. They all follow the newcomer that lead them. Raven runs up beside him, "Who the hell are you?"**

**The newcomer smirks at Raven, "Name's Hova. Please to meet cha."**

**Raven nods and greets, "Raven."**

**They both then look on ahead and keep running. Hova turns and looks to the others, "This way is the way out!"**

**They all see a tunnel of light. They all go through it. Finally......they were all once again outside. The group then turns and sees the skeleton army still chasing them. Hova then shoots above the doorway. He hits a switch of some sort and the door then caves in on the army, locking them inside.**

**Everyone then looks to Hova. He looks back, "Well.....that couldn't have gone better."**

**Serenity's eyes then widened, "L-Luke??"**

**Hova looks to Serenity. He smiles, "Janice? What's up? Never seen you in soo long!"**

**Serenity smiles, "Yeah. It **_**has**_** been a long time."**

**Hova then looks at everyone, "So? These your friends?"**

**Serenity nods, "Yup!"**

**Raven looks to Hova, "No way! That can't be Luke!"**

**Hova then looks to Raven, "You knew me too? I don't recall us ever meeting. Did we?"**

**Raven sighs and smirks, "You don't recognize me do you?"**

**Hova then looks at Raven closer. He then shakes his head. Serenity laughs, "Luke. That's Carrie!"**

**Hova's eyes widened, "OH!! That's Carrie?!! Are you serious?? That's Carrie??"**

**Raven laughs, "Well I AM standing here aren't I?"**

**Hova laughs, "I don't know. Are you?"**

**Everyone chuckles a little, except for Coslotus. All he did was stand there with his arms crossed. Hova then looks at everyone, "Okay, I know three of yas. Who are the rest of you?"**

**Sith steps forward, "I'm Sith. Raven's brother."**

**Hova's eyes widened, "That's you, Quinn?! Shit! You've grown big! And how old are you?"**

**Sith smirks, "Fifteen!"**

**Hova's eyes widened more, "Sick!"**

**Hikari goes right in front of Hova with a big smile on her face, "I'm Hikari."**

**Hova looks down with a raised eyebrow, "Yo?"**

**Everyone else then introduces themselves. Hova nods a hello to every one of them. Hikari smiles and puts her hands behind her back, "We sure could use a guy like you on our team!"**

**Hova looks around again, "Cool. Any of you the leader?"**

**Most of the group then point to Raven. Hova looks to Raven, "You're the leader?"**

**Raven shrugs, "Well.....I **_**did**_** start this group by going out to find everyone."**

**Hova nods, "Oh yeah? That's cool."**

**Raven nods, "Yeah. Wanna join? There's always room for friends."**

**Hova smirks, "Sure. I'll join."**

**A few days later, Hova moved into the extra room at The League of Retribution's house. Coslotus hated him for reasons unknown. They reported to the mayor on a mission successful. He awarded them with extra privileges of the city.**

**After resting from the group's most recent event, Raven kept on leaving the house for work. Serenity often wondered what she had been up to. Especially with the wound Raven had recieved back at the temple.**


	21. Chapter 20

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Twenty: Rivals in Combat**_

**Raven was sitting in her room, re-bandaging her wound on her side. It had been a week since the incident at the temple. She saw it was healing nicely, it was only a minor scratch. She sighs and looks up. She never seen Dimus for a week straight. She wondered why.**

**Just then, she looks over and sees him sitting on her chair. Raven's eyes widened, "Dimus! Where have you been??"**

**Dimus gets up and grabs her arm. Raven's eyes widened as she let out a gasp. He looks down at her wound. He growls a little, "What happened?"**

**Raven then says, "I....I got into a little mess up at some temple last week."**

**Dimus looks over her wound once more, "You haven't healed it?"**

**Raven chuckles, "I can only heal small wounds....not big ones."**

**Dimus nods, "I see. Are you alright?"**

**Raven nods, "I'm fine. Now answer my question. Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a week!"**

**Dimus finally lets go of her arm and sits on the bed with her. He smiles at her, "I had to go out of town for a bit. Family matters."**

**Raven nods, "Oh. I see......you could've told me at least."**

**Dimus smiles again, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you.....but I guess I did the opposite of that."**

**Raven chuckles, "Yeah. You did."**

**Dimus smiles, "You free tonight?"**

**Raven nods, "Always am."**

**Raven then finishes bandaging her side as Dimus says, "There's a new event tonight. You're to be expected."**

**Dimus then hands her a card. Raven then tightens her bandages and places a shirt on over her bra. She then takes the card and looks at it. Raven nods, "I'll be there."**

**Dimus smirks, "Tonight's special. This is the event of the month! So you have to be there!"**

**Raven nods again, "Okay. Like I said, I'll be there."**

**Dimus leans forward and whispers, **_**"Don't let me down."**_

**He then kisses her lips. Raven then kisses back. Dimus then parts the short kiss, "I gotta go, love. I'll see you tonight."**

**Raven nods and whispers, **_**"Okay."**_

**With that, Dimus hops out the window. Raven then gets up and looks out the window, watching Dimus take off.**

**As the day got darker, Raven then puts on her usual outfit and packs her black backpack with another outfit. She then flings it over her shoulder and goes out the door. She then sees Pheonix carrying cans of paint inside. Pheonix stops, "Where're you off to?"**

**Raven smiles, "Work. What's with the paint?"**

**Pheonix looks at the paint cans and smiles, "Oh. I just finished painting the rest of the house."**

**Raven nods, "Oh. That's.....that's awesome."**

**Pheonix chuckles, "Yeah. It was hard work, but it was worth it."**

**Raven nods again, "I bet. Well....better go before I'm late."**

**Pheonix nods, "Alright. Have a good night at work."**

**Raven smirks, "Thanks....I will."**

**With that, Raven runs off. **

**As Pheonix went to go in, Serenity comes out and watches Raven leave. Serenity then walks passed Pheonix. Pheonix raises an eyebrow, "Where're you off to?"**

**Serenity turns, "I'm gonna follow Raven. I find it suspicious as to why she never told us her job!!"**

**With that, Serenity leaves. Pheonix sighs and shakes his head and goes in the house.**

**As Serenity followed Raven, Evan appears beside her. Serenity's eyes widened, "Wha-what're you doing here?"**

**Evan replied, "Following Raven like you are. Don't think you're the only one whose worried about her."**

**Serenity sighs, "Okay. But we have to keep quiet so she can't see us."**

**Zero appears with Coslotus, "Hey."**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Huh??"**

**Evan's eyes widened as well, "What're you guys doing here?"**

**Zero sighs, "I was dragged here!"**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Coslotus dragged you?"**

**Coslotus sighs, "You never know what might happen."**

**Serenity shakes her head, "Let's just go."**

**The group then goes and follows Raven.**

**After a short while, Raven arrives at a back alley. Evan's eyes widened, "A back alley? This can't be good."**

**Serenity whispers, **_**"Come on."**_

**They all go into the alley and see Raven knocking on a black door. The door opens and she walks inside. There was a sign that had said **_**Barbarian's Inn**_**. Serenity gulped a little as the group followed along. After the door closed, Serenity knocks. A shift was heard and a pair of yellow eyes were seen in the small door window. As soon as the door opened, everyone's eyes widened. Standing before them was a big muscular devil man. He swung his tail back and forth as he made a glaring look. He says in a dark sinister voice, "What business do you have here?"**

**Serenity shoke a little. She then studders, "Oh....umm....friend of Raven's?"**

**The devil man's eyes widened, "You mean **_**Raging Raven**_**? By all means....come on in! Any friend of hers is a friend of mine!!"**

**With that, the devil man steps aside. The group then looked at one another. Evan mutters, **_**"Raging Raven?"**_

**Serenity just shrugs and walks on in. Everyone then follows. Once inside, everyone looks around. The place was filled with brutes and concubines dancing for viewing pleasure. There were fights at at least every other table. There were also drinking contests being held at a few tables. Nothing but drunken brutes wandering this place. The place smelled of booze, blood, and the possibility of vomit. Serenity covers her nose, "Yuck!"**

**Evan rubs his nose with his sleeve and focuses on Raven's scent. In the center of the entire place was a big white ring that was the same size as a stage. Evan grunts, "Why would Raven work at a place like this??"**

**Serenity places her hands on her hips, "That's what I like to know!!"**

**Zero looks out into the ring, "Hey, isn't that her in the ring?"**

**Everyone looks,**_** "Hm?"**_

**Raven was standing in the ring, wearing loose white pants with a tight black muscle shirt. Her hands were wrapped in white bandages, while she stood in bare feet. Raven cracks her neck and jumps short paces side to side, getting ready for something. Serenity's eyes widened, "Wh-what's she doing up there??"**

**Everyone then looked around, seeing people giving money out to some guy collecting it. Some voices shouted, "I bet on Raging Raven!!!"**

**Other voices shouted, "50 grand on Raven!!"**

**Evan raises an eyebrow, "Why in hell are people betting??"**

**Zero looks to the ring, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say Raven was getting ready to fight. This is a place where you watch people fight and bet on who you think would win."**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "WHAAAAT????!!"**

**Music began to play as the announcer came to the center of the ring. The song that played was **_**Go To Sleep **_**by a rapper called **_**Eminem**_**. The annoucer then said into a microphone, **_**"Alright everyone!! Now that all of you have placed your bets, let's introduce the contenders!!!"**_

**The announcer turns to Raven, **_**"In the left corner!! Standing 5,5 in height and weighing around 160 lbs. Our current champion!! The shamanic Raging Raven!!"**_

**The crowd cheered louder than ever as Raven steps to the center of the ring, beside the announcer. Raven cracks her knuckles and then her neck. She then jumps side to side once again, bracing herself. The announcer smirks, **_**"And in the right corner!!! Standing 6,9 in height and weighing 290 lbs. The historical dino fighting for the title!! The Three Horned Tryco!!!"**_

**There was loud footsteps coming onto the ring. Everyone gasp at the sight of the creature. It was a giant muscular triceratops creature. He had muscular arms and legs. His whole body was a dark shade of green as he had glowing red eyes. He smirks as he cracks his knuckles. He stands in the center of the ring, looking down at Raven. Raven looks back up at him, her eyes showing a sign of no life. They both put their fists together. The announcer goes to them, "Okay you two. Remember, anything goes! Is that clear?"**

**Raven says coldly, "Yeah."**

**Tryco smirks, "Yeah. I got it."**

**They then punch down lightly on one another's fists, showing a sign of being prepared. The annoucer looks at both of them. Raven glares at Tryco, while Tryco smirks. He whispers, **_**"If I win this match.....you're MINE!!!"**_

**Raven says nothing. Her eyes go darker in coldness. The announcer says, "Ready....."**

**Tryco makes a kissing face at Raven and then gives her a sick and twisted smirk. Raven could feel her chills twitch her, ready to make her snap from anger. The announcer then announces, **_**"Let the match BEGIN!!!!"**_

**Raven then pushes Tryco's fists and punches his gut as hard as she could. Tryco's eyes widened, "G-guh!!"**

**He then spits out blood and takes a step back. Raven then jumps and brings a round house kick to his face. Tryco takes another step back as his head snaps to the side from Raven's kick. As soon as Raven lands on her feet, she then brings multiple punches to Tryco's gut again. Everyone in the crowd was going wild, swinging their money in the air. Tryco then smirks at Raven. As she went to throw her next kick, Tryco grabs it. Raven gasps. Tryco smirks and chuckles. He then lifts Raven up in the air by her leg and slams her down onto the ring with a big bashing sound. As soon as Raven lands on the ring, Raven's body arches up and lands onto the other side of the ring. **

**Raven staggers to her feet. She shakes her head to snap out of it. As soon as Raven went to look at Tryco, a giant fist came to her face. She flew in a fast spinning motion and landed on her stomach. She gasps for air.**

**Serenity's eyes widened as she screamed, "RAVEN!!!!"**

**Raven spits out blood and smirks. She began to laugh. She then spits out a tooth from the back of her mouth. She then staggers to her feet, still smirking. Tryco's eyes widened, "Huh?"**

**Raven sighs, "That felt great! Care to try again?"**

**Tryco then growls in anger and charges at her with another punch. Raven grabs it with both hands, "Impressive. Now it's MY turn!!"**

**Raven's hands then glew purple. She then pushes Tryco back and runs at him. She then repeatedly punches Tryco's gut. Over and over again Raven went. Her movement was faster then ever before, and for that matter, stronger too. Raven then jumps into a spinning uppercut to the jaw. Tryco goes flying upwards into the air. Raven then grabs Tryco's arm and slams him hard onto the ring. A big booming sound was heard. Everyone gasps and cheers louder. Raven then flips and lands onto Tryco's massive chest. She then jumps on his gut, causing him to spit out more blood. She then lands herself onto his throat. He lets out a painful gurgling moan. Raven then began to crush his throat with her foot. She smirks and says in reference to Tryco's earlier comment, "**_**You're**_** MINE right now!!"**

**She then kicks him in the face. Hikari jumps up and down, "GO RAVEN!!!"**

**Everyone looks. Serenity says, "Huh? Hikari?? Where'd you come from?"**

**Hikari smiles, "From the front door!"**

**Sith pops up smirking at the match, "So......this is what Raven's been doing. Not a bad job or pay."**

**Serenity's eyes widened as she pointed to the ring, "You're encouraging this???!!!"**

**Sith nods, "Uhh.....yeah. Me and her were born to fight no matter where we go. So it's only fitting."**

**Hikari smiles, "Plus it's fun to watch!"**

**Serenity yells, "I can't believe you guys!!!"**

**Coslotus then says, "What's the big deal? She can take care of herself."**

**Serenity shouts, "That's not the point!!"**

**As Raven walks away, she says, "This fight is over."**

**Tryco gets up and roars. Raven stops and looks. Tryco then slaps her on the side of her face. Raven falls to the ground. Tryco then kicks her side while she was down. Tryco's kick had landed on Raven's wound. Raven's eyes widened as she let out a loud scream. Evan's eyes widened. He growls and yells, "RAVEN!!!!!!!"**

**As he went to run up onto the ring, Zero grabs him, "NO!! You can't interfere!!"**

**Evan roars as he struggles, "I DON'T CARE!!! I'LL HAVE THAT BASTARD'S HEAD!!!!"**

**Raven looks up and sees Evan. Her eyes widened as she saw the others with him. She growls in anger as she thought, **_**"They....weren't suppose to be here!!!!"**_

**Raven gets up and grabs Tryco's foot before it even hit her. She then pushes him back. He then lands back first onto the ring. Tryco turns over on all fours and tries to get up. Raven then grabs his neck and whispers evily, **_**"I win!!!!!!"**_

**She then snaps his neck with a very loud snap. Tryco falls down dead. Raven stands and spits out more blood. She started to bleed from her mouth on the side of her lip. The announcer's eyes widened, **_**"Once again!! Coming out on top and still Master of the Ring!! Raging Raven!!!"**_

**Everyone cheered and applauded louder than before. Raven then lifts up her shirt a little ways and looks at her wound. It was worse than before. Blood came through her bandages on her side. She sighs and she pulls her shirt back down. A guy came running with a load of cash in his hands. Raven swipes it from his hand, "Gimme that!!"**

**Raven then counts it as she leaves the ring. All of her friends then came running to her. Serenity yells, "Raven!! What were you thinking?!! This is where you've been coming to work all this time?! This is your new job?!"**

**Raven growls, "So what?! None of you had no business coming here!!! Part of the deal was no one was allowed to know!! And now because of you........I'm gonna have to pay for it!!!!"**

**Serenity yells, "Well sorry if all of us were worried about you!!! You think none of us noticed when you came back with bruises!!!"**

**Raven growls, "I'm not listening to this!! This is nothing but bullshit!!!"**

**Evan then grabs Raven's shoulders as she went to walk away, "Raven! You could've got yourself killed out there!"**

**Raven sighs, "Look. I know you guys mean well.....but I've been fighting long before I found you guys. So I know what I'm doing."**

**Serenity then says, "But still!!"**

**Evan then says, "You said Dimus was the one who found you this job?"**

**Raven nods, "Uh-huh."**

**Evan then lets Raven's shoulders go and balls his hands into fists. He growls, "Th-that's not right!!"**

**Raven sighs, "He knew I love to fight, so he recommended me here."**

**Hikari smiles, "That's cool!!"**

**Serenity looks to Hikari, "You're not helping!!"**

**Raven sighs, "Look, I'm doing this job whether you guys like it or not. Part of the bargain was no friends!!"**

**Serenity's jaw drops, "Whether we like it or not?! **_**Carrie!! **_**You shouldn't be fighting!!!"**

**Evan then sees Raven's wound. He then looks at her, "You're willing to give up your flesh and blood in return for money?"**

**As Raven went to reply to that, the announcer was heard from the ring. The announcer had said, **_**"And now for the two on two matches!!!! For this first round.........the prize is $200, 000!!!!!!"**_

**Raven turns around and looks into the ring. Her eyes widened, "A single match isn't even worth **_**that**_** much!!"**

**The announcer then says, **_**"We're willing to take any takers. As long as it's two people willing to work together!!"**_

**Raven whispers to herself, **_**"Gotta have that money!"**_

**She then looks around, "Uhh....."**

**She then looks at Zero. She then runs right up to him, "Zero! You can be my tag team partner!!"**

**Zero's eyes widened, "Whaa?! Why me?!!"**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "You're gonna fight again?!! After your wound got re-opened??"**

**Raven sighs and ignores Serenity, "Because......you're a martial artist and you'd be the best at this."**

**Zero shakes his head, "Oh no no no no no! I c-can't! I-I've been trained to not fight in this manner! I've been taught to fight in honour and disapline! I've been taught to protect!"**

**Raven smirks, "Well this **_**is**_** honour! And this **_**is**_** disapline! **_**We're**_** giving it to the opponents! Come on! It's for a shit load of money!!"**

**Zero shakes his head again, "N-no! There's no way I c-can go through with that! No! I'm not doing that!"**

**Raven goes up onto the ring. The announcer then says, **_**"We seem to have a contender! And it's none other than our very own Raging Raven craving for more!!!"**_

**The crowd then cheered into a loud frenzy. The announcer then says, **_**"And your partner is?"**_

**Raven looks to Zero, "Come on!! Please?"**

**Zero crosses his arms and closes his eyes, "No! I'm not doing it!"**

**Raven puts a hand on her ear, "I can't hear you!"**

**The crowd was louder than before. Zero shouts, "What?"**

**Raven shouts, "I couldn't hear you!!! Speak louder!!"**

**Zero sighs. He then walks right into the ring and walks in front of Raven, "I said I'm not doing this!"**

**The announcer then says, **_**"And we have our team!!"**_

**The announcer then asks, "Whose your partner?"**

**Raven replies, "Zero Amano."**

**The announcer then says, **_**"Our first team!! Raging Raven and Zero Amano!!"**_

**Zero's eyes widened, "Wh-what?!!! NO!!"**

**Raven smirks, "Sorry. It's done!"**

**Zero's eyes widened as he then realized where he was, "Y-you mean to tell me.....that you tricked me into coming into the ring on purpose??!!"**

**Raven chuckles, "You actually thought I couldn't hear you? Come on, Zero."**

**Zero shakes his head, "No! Nah-uh! I'm not doing this!! I can walk away anytime I want to!! Which is right now!!"**

**As Zero went to walk away, a big shift was heard from the ceiling. Zero looks up and sees a cage being inclosed on them. He then sees they were locked in. Zero balls his hands into fists, "Great.....!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened when she saw they were about to take part in a cage match. The crowd then roars louder with cheers. Serenity then puts a hand over her mouth, "Oh no."**

**Hikari jumps up and down, "This is gonna be soo cool!!!"**

**Evan then balls his hands into fists once again, feeling useless. He thinks to himself, **_**"Be careful, Raven....."**_

**Another song began to play. It was called **_**Foxy Foxy by Rob Zombie. **_**The announcer then says, **_**"Okay....now to introduce Raven and Zero's opponents!"**_

**Zero goes beside Raven and growls, "I can't believe you dragged me in here!!"**

**Raven sighs, "Get over it. It's for a good cause."**

**Zero's eyes widened, "Good cause? You think hurting people for money has a good cause??"**

**The announcer then says, **_**"Introducing the Tag Team Champions!! Thazar and Bolder!!!!"**_

**Two big guys then stepped into the ring. Thazar was big and blue. Muscle on top of muscle. Bolder looked the same, only chestnut brown. They both smirked and cracked their knuckles. Raven's eyes widened and she took a big gulp, "I-I didn't know these guys were gonna be so buff!!!"**

**Zero's eyes widened, "For $200, 000, you thought our opponents were gonna be weak?!!!!"**

**Raven looks at Zero, "Yeah."**

**Zero shakes his head, "I can't beleive you!!"**

**He then points his finger at Raven, "You're not gonna hear the end of this!!"**

**The announcer then shouted, **_**"Let the match begin!!!"**_

**The two big guys then walked towards Zero and Raven while they were still bickering. They finally notice them. Zero sighs, "I'm not gonna get out of this am I? Fine.....I'll fight.......we're gonna talk more about this when we get home though!"**

**Raven nods, "Deal."**

**The guys then go in for a good punch. Raven blocks it while Zero ducks and thrusts in a good kick to his gut. They both step back as the crowd got louder as the music went on. Hikari shouts, "GO RAVEN AND ZERO!!!"**

**Raven smiles at Zero, "Nice kick!"**

**As Thazar went to punch Raven, Zero gasps, "Look out!"**

**He then pulls Raven towards him. Raven then lands into Zero's chest as he then blocks Thazar's punch with his knee high in the air. Raven's eyes widened as Zero's arm was wrapped around her, holding her tight. Raven then looks up at Zero as he then pushes Thazar back and punches his stomach with a big bashing sound. Zero then glares at Thazar, "Now I'm pissed!!"**

**Raven then leans back, "You're mad over some guy trying to hurt me?"**

**Zero nods, "Uhh....yeah I am. No one gets away with trying to hurt my friends!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened when she sees Bolder try to strike Zero from behind. Raven then turns them around them and switches position. Raven then blocks it with her hand and throws a good round house kick. Bolder then goes flying right into the cage wall. Thazar then gets back up as Zero goes into a dragon-style stance.**

**Bolder then shakes his head to snap out of it. Raven then goes into a stance as well. Zero and Raven were now back to back. They both look at one another with a nod. The enemies then charge at Raven and Zero. They both glare at them with determination. Raven then jumps at Bolder and knees him in the chest. He goes flying back again. Bolder then smirks and began to do multiple punches to every direction of Raven's body. Raven's eyes widened as she then quickly blocks every one of them.**

**Thazar then takes a swing at Zero. He then grabs his fist with his hands and flips him over on his back. Zero stands there and waits for Thazar to get up. He does so. As soon as he does, Zero then backflips himself into the air and brings a kick under his chin. Thazar tumbles back and spits blood out. Zero lands on his feet and runs at him. He then began to punch his gut over and over again.**

**Bolder then lands a punch on Raven's shoulder. She yelps in pain. She then goes to kick him, but her leg gets grabbed. Raven's eyes widened, "Huh???"**

**Bolder then swings her against the cage wall over and over again like a baseball bat. Finally, Bolder then swings Raven onto the ring floor hard. **

**Evan's eyes widened as he surged with anger, "RAVEN!!!!"**

**He growls in anger as he began to shake, feeling helpless.**

**Bolder then throws Raven across the ring. She lands right into Zero from behind. They both fall into the cage wall. Thazar and Bolder stand there laughing. Raven and Zero shake their heads to snap out of it. Zero spits a little bit of blood. Raven feels the side of her forehead begin to bleed. Zero then gets up and grabs onto Raven, helping her up. **

**Thazar and Bolder charge at them. Raven jumps and kicks Bolder to the chest, while Zero runs and punches Thazar in the gut and then in the face. Raven then kicks Bolder in the back as he fell. He goes flying in the air. Raven jumps up and Zero grabs her. He then spins her and tosses her into the air. Raven spins a double kick to Bolder's face. Bolder then falls, knocked out cold.**

**Zero then jumps as Thazar ran at him, and stomped onto his face. Zero then flips and grabs his shoulders, doing an air cartwheel. Zero lands on his feet and launches Thazar onto the ring hard, knocking him out. A big bash was heard as soon as Thazar landed onto his head.**

**The crowd goes wild and clap. Hikari shouts, "YEAH!!!"**

**The announcer's eyes widened, **_**"I never seen anything like this folks!!! Your new Tag Team Champions are Raging Raven and Quicksilver Zero!!!"**_

**The crowd comences into a raging riot of cheer. The announcer then gives them two big bags of money. One to Raven and the other to Zero. The cage then opens up and Raven and Zero leave to be with their friends. Hikari jumps up and down, "That was cool!!! We HAVE to come back here!!!"**

**Serenity places her hands on her hips, "We are certainly not!"**

**Hikari smiles, "Well I am!!"**

**Clapping was then heard, aside from the cheering crowd. Dimus came walking towards them, clapping, "Bravo. Magnificent!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Dimus?"**

**Dimus smirks and stops clapping, "That was quite a show. I'm proud of you."**

**He then kisses Raven's cheek. Evan began to shake more with anger. He growls, "You!!! You have some nerve showing up!!"**

**Dimus smirks, "And why is that?"**

**Evan yells, "You recommended this to Raven!!! As a result, she's hurt and marked up from fighting!!!! You don't even care that she has to draw her own blood for money!!! Some boyfriend you are!!!"  
**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Evan!!"**

**Dimus smirk fades, "As a matter of fact.....I **_**do**_** care about Raven getting hurt. It was **_**her**_** choice, and I respect her decisions."**

**Evan growls, "Bullshit!!!"**

**As Evan was about to go at Dimus, Sith holds him back. Dimus then makes a serious expression, "Let's all go outside."**

**Dimus then leads the way as everyone follows. Serenity then notices Coslotus was missing. She looks to see him giving money to strippers as they danced. Serenity's eyes widened, "John!!!"**

**She then grabs him and drags him out.**

**Once outside, Dimus turns and looks right at Evan. Dimus smirks, "You got something to say to me, say it."**

**Evan then says, "Okay, here's what I got to say....."**

**With that, he walks up to Dimus and lands a punch to his face. Raven gasps, "EVAN!!"**

**Dimus then smirks, "Is that all you've got?"**

**Evan growls and yells, "I'm so **_**sick**_** of you **_**vampires**_** thinking you can take advantage of people!! In my opinion, I don't think you even **_**deserve**_** Raven!!! Not one bit!!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened at his words. Dimus begins to chuckle, "Alright then. Who, in your eyes, **_**does**_** deserve Raven? **_**You? **_**Heh heh, don't make me laugh, **_**Lycan!! **_**You're nothing but a filthy, snarling animal!"**

**Raven's eyes widened even more, "DIMUS!!!"**

**The clouds in the sky shift and reveal a full moon. Evan growls as he began to change, "That's it!!! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!"**

**He then jumps at Dimus and they both land into a building. Dimus then throws Evan back, making him land into a car. A huge dent could be seen. Raven places her hands over her mouth. She then shouts, "STOP IT!!!!!"**

**Evan gets up, now transforming fully. He growls as he stands on his hind legs, getting ready to fight.**


	22. Chapter 21

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Twenty One: A Wolf's Loss and a Death Dealer's Bite**_

**Evan was now fully transformed. He lets out a roar as Dimus stands there and smirks. He then says, "What a joke. You? Take me on? This should be amusing."**

**Raven gasps as she goes to run into the middle of them, "STOP IT!!! BOTH OF YOU!!!"**

**Sith then grabs her, "Don't interfere!!"**

**Raven shouts, "Let me go!!!!"**

**Evan growls as he gives Dimus an evil glare. Dimus' smirk widens. Evan's red glowing eyes shimmered as his anger went up more and more. Finally, Evan runs at Dimus at full speed. Evan then leaps at Dimus with his claws in front. Dimus' eyes then glew red as his fangs grew. He growls and grabs Evan by his wrists and swings him into the side of a building, leaving a giant hole.**

**People on the streets began to run, while others stayed and watched the fight. Evan gets up and shakes the rubble off his fur. He begins to growl as he turns his attiention back to Dimus. Dimus then growls vampiric-like, "I won't allow someone like you woe Raven!!"**

**Dimus then jumps at Evan, with his fangs showing and his nails growing. Evan growls and dives onto Dimus, making him land on his back onto the pavement hard. Evan's claws then start to pin Dimus' arms down. Evan growls into Dimus' face. As Evan went to bite on Dimus, Dimus forces one of his arms out of Evan's grasp, leaving scratch marks on it. Dimus then grabs Evan's mouth before he bit down on him. Dimus' eyes glew brighter as he then forcefully shoves Evan aside. Dimus gets up as did Evan.**

**As Evan went to run at Dimus, he punches him in the face and makes Evan go flying. **

**Raven tries to struggle herself free from Sith, "EVAN!! DIMUS!!! STOP!!!"**

**Evan then lands on his back. He then rolls himself up and lets out another roar. Dimus holds his bleeding arm, that was slowly healing. Dimus growls, "If it weren't for Raven.....I'd kill you! But I won't. This fight is over."**

**As Dimus went to walk away, Evan runs at him and stabs his side from behind with his claws. Dimus gasps, "Guh...."**

**He then begins to bleed from his mouth. Evan jumps back, growling. Dimus spits out the blood and growls in anger. He turns as his eyes glew even more, "THAT'S IT!!! YOUR DEATH IS MINE, LYCAN!!!!"**

**Raven finally struggles free. She then runs to Evan and Dimus, "NO!!"**

**Sith's eyes widened as Serenity shouts, "Raven!! Don't!!"**

**Raven then runs in front of Evan as Dimus went to attack him. Raven began to cry, "Stop it!! Stop it right now!!"**

**Dimus then holds his wound. He growls, "Raven.......move."**

**Raven shakes her head, "No.....I can't do that. He can't help it!!"**

**Evan then looks at Raven as did Dimus. Raven began to shed more tears, "Dimus.....go while you still can! I don't want either of you hurt any further!!!"**

**Dimus growls even more, "I gave him a chance to stop......but he insisted by attacking me from behind!! For that he must pay!!"**

**Raven shakes her head, "Dimus!! Let it go!! If not for you.......then do it for me!!"**

**Dimus' red eyes widened. He then looks to the ground, still holding his wound. He then growls from pure hatrid. He then grips his wound as he forces his fangs to reside and his eyes to change normal colour. He then looks at Raven, "Alright.....only because you asked me. But if this happens again....I swear...I'll kill your little friend."**

**Evan then growls after he said that. Raven sighs and nods, "Thank you, Dimus."**

**Dimus turns his back on Raven, now angered even further. He then fades into the shadows. The last thing that was heard from him was in the wind, **_**"I love you, Raven."**_

**With that, there was nothing but silence. Raven sighs in relief. She then looks to the others that were staring at her. Zero asks, "What now?"**

**Raven sighs, "All of you go home, take the money with you."**

**Serenity gasps, "What about you?"**

**Raven says, "I'm staying with Evan until he changes back."**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "No Raven! He could kill you!!"**

**Raven looks at Serenity coldly, "No he won't. Ask Zero and Sith."**

**Zero picks up Raven's share and says, "Let's go. You heard her."**

**Serenity gasps, "B-but--!!"**

**Coslotus drags her away, "Let's go."**

**Hikari then says, "See you, Raven."**

**Raven nods, "Bye."**

**With that, the group leaves and goes back home. Raven sighs and turns to see Evan gone. Her eyes widened, "Gah! Evan?!"**

**She then hears screaming from across the street. She looks to see Evan chasing a random person. As Evan was inches away from catching his prey, he gets stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened. He then looks back and sees Raven had grabbed his tail. Evan looks at her and whines. Raven sighs, "Come on....can't have you attacking random people."**

**With that, Raven starts dragging Evan away. Evan whines as he sees his prey getting away. **

**After a short amount of time, Raven leads Evan to a forest. She finally lets go of his tail. She then says, "Okay. Go wild."**

**Evan then sniffs around. He then spots a deer. His eyes widened as he speeds off after it. Raven sighs and goes to the nearest tree and sits under it. She then leans her back on it, closing her eyes. Minutes later, she then feels something cuddle against her. Raven's eyes open to see Evan cuddling beside her. She smiles, "Better?"**

**Evan then licks his lips from left over blood. Raven sighs again, "I'll take that as a yes."**

**Evan then licks Raven's face. Raven gasps, "Gah! You just ate and everything! Eww!!"**

**Raven then looks at Evan, who was staring at her. Raven sighs and smiles. She then starts to pet his head. Evan then closes his eyes, feeling content. Raven then wraps an arm around him, "You're so reckless."**

**Evan then cuddles into Raven's stomach, laying down on her lap. Raven then looks up at the full moon. She takes a deep breath, feeling content as well. Raven then closes her eyes. Dark clouds began to form over them. It then started to rain. Evan whines a little as he began to change back. Raven began to shed tears, feeling his pain. She then places a hand on his head. **

**Raven then opens her tear filled eyes. She then stared at the rain as the tree sheltered them from being wet. Evan finishes transforming back to a human. His eyes widened, looking around. He then realizes he was on someone's lap. He takes a whiff and realizes it was Raven. **

**Raven leans back, patting Evan's head in comfort. Evan raises himself up and looks right at Raven. She then looks back at him. Raven smiles and gets Evan's hair out of the way of his eyes with her hand. She whispers, **_**"Welcome back."**_

**Evan didn't know what to say. He then grabs Raven's hand and kisses it. Raven smiles softly at him. More rain then came pouring down. Evan then leans back right beside Raven. Still holding her hand, he finally says, "D-did I......did I try to hurt any of your friends this time?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "No you didn't."**

**Evan sighs, "That's good."**

**Raven then says, "Thanks to you.....Dimus walked away with a couple of wounds."**

**Evan then remembered what had happened last. The last thing he remembered was punching Dimus in the face. Evan finally says, "Good. He deserves it."**

**Raven looks at Evan, "How can you say that?"**

**Evan looks at Raven, "Simple. I hate him."**

**Raven then says, "Well.....you and Dimus fighting? It's not gonna happen again."**

**Evan then says, "We'll see."**

**Raven sighs. Evan then leans towards her and puts a hand on her face, "Raven.....he's trying to take advantage of you. I don't like it. You deserve better."**

**Raven's eyes widened. She then places her hand on Evan's, "Evan.....no matter what you think, Dimus isn't like that."**

**Evan sighs, "He **_**is**_**! I **_**know**_** it!"**

**Evan then says, "Just.......watch yourself when you're around him, alright?"**

**Raven nods, "Okay...."**

**At that moment, Evan and Raven stare at one another. Evan leans in closer to her. Raven's eyes widened a bit. It was as if Evan was about to kiss her. Raven slightly turns away, not knowing what was going on. Instead, Evan ended up kissing Raven's cheek. He then whispers, **_**"I don't want to lose you."**_

**Raven looks at Evan with her eyes widened once again. She then says, "I don't want to lose you either."**

**With that, Raven then kisses Evan's cheek. He then closes his eyes and feels a great deal of warmth take him under. Raven then looks at him in the eyes and gives him a warm smile. Evan smiles back at her. They both then turn their heads and watch the rain pour.**

**After a moment of comfortable silence, Raven finally says, "So...how did you get to be......a you know......werewolf?"**

**Evan looks at Raven. She then looks back at him. Evan then turns back to the rain. He sighs, "Okay....I'll give you the whole story."**

_**Flashback:**_

**Steve pulls off of Fairgrounds road to the shack known at the Guardhouse infront of the factory that Steve worked at. Steve pulls up to the Guardhouse and puts his PT Cruiser into park as a short, fat man with curly red hair wearing a security uniform walks up to his driver's side window. "Hey, Steve. How's life treating ya?" The security guard asks.**

**Steve chuckles slightly. "Same as usual, shitty. How's things going with you, Joe?"**

**Joe smiles and shrugs. "I really can't complain."**

**Steve sighs and shakes his head. "Lucky you. Well I better get back there before Ray has a cow. I'll talk to you later, Joe." Steve waves to Joe, puts the car into drive and drives past the gate to the Warnaco factory.**

**Steve drives through the full parking lot of the Shipping building and goes between the two buildings that are the Shipping and Receiving buildings to the empty parking lot, with the exception of one car, of the Receiving building. Steve pulls into the space next to the lone car and gets out. Steve stands at six foot two inches tall and is wearing the same security uniform as Joe. Steve grabs his two liter of Code Red Mountain Dew, his backpack, and his cigarettes, before walking from the car, up the stairs to the entrance to the building, and inside.**

**Steve walks through the door to the empty warehouse and puts his stuff at the desk right by the door. Steve then stands at Military attention and salutes the short, fat, bald man, wearing the same security uniform as Steve. "Security Officer: Steven Watson reporting for duty, Admiral Claycomb." Steve mocks.**

**Ray grunts as he gets up from the chair. "You better cut that shit out. I'm tired of it. I'll call corprate and have your job."**

**Steve laughs. "You would've by now, since I'm such a 'bad employee'. Come on man, monkeys can do our job. All we do is sit here and watch a fucking door. So shut up, get your shit, and get home."**

**Ray grunts as he grabs his stuff and walks past Steve. "One of these days. You are going to be out of here, and I'll be happy." Ray then leaves the building.**

"**So will I, jackass." Steve mutters to himself as he sits down in the chair that Ray was sitting in. Steve pulls up his back pack and unzips it, pulling out a old laptop computer and placing it on the desk. He pulls out the cord to it and plugs it into the computer, getting up from his chair to the outlet on the other side of the door to plug the computer in.**

**Steve walks back to the computer and turns it on, but the screen stayed black. "Oh, come on!" Steve yells at the computer and tries smacking it to no avail. "Great…my stories are lost…again!" Steve leans back in his chair and grunts. "And now I don't have anything to do." Steve looks at the clock and groans. "Great, it's just now three. Ten hours of nothing to do…yay."**

**A half hour later, Steve sits outside smoking a cigarette, bored out of his mind. "I hate this shit…I need to get a better job…or a raise. A raise would be great." Steve sighs and flicks the finished cigarette into the parking lot. Steve goes back in and sits at the desk, leaning back in the chair. Steve looks around to see if anyone was there, naturally, their wasn't. Nobody worked second shift in Receiving. Steve leans back in the chair and closes his eyes, taking a nap.**

**Steve wakes up several hours later in complete darkness. "What the hell?" Steve says pulling open a cabnit behind him to grab a flashlight. He flicks it on and walks back to where the circuit breaker was. He opens it and tries all the switches, none of the lights come back on. "Great…it's dead. Doesn't the shit ever end?!" Steve walks back over to his desk and picks up the phone, dialing the supervisor's number, but the phone was dead too. "What the hell? Great now I have to walk all the way to Shipping in the dark." Steve hangs up the phone and walks through the building towards Shipping.**

**Steve looks around the shipping area with his flashlight, no one was around. Steve looks at his watch. "Nine fifteen? It's not dinner time yet." Steve walks to the door and looks out the window. The shipping parking lot was completely filled. "What the hell is going on? Where is everyone?" A loud crash makes Steve turn around quickly and see a guy with blood red hair and eyes standing ten feet away from him, staring at him. "Hey, where is everyone?" The man just keeps staring. "What's wrong with you?" The man keeps staring. "Dude, stop it or I'm kicking your ass." Steve warns**

**The man laughs at that. "If you think you can, mortal, then please do." It sounded like the man's voice was a hit demonic.**

**Steve raises an eyebrow. "What the hell?" He whispers to himself. The man pulls out a sword that's blood red and points it at Steve. Steve's eyes widen. "A Shade?" He asks himself. From the corner a white glowing floating skeleton with some flesh and clothes comes towards the shade. "A lyche?" Steve asks, a bit more terrified. Then booming footsteps from down the warehouse make Steve turn to see another white glowing floating skeleton, but this one wasn't human, it was the a dragon's skeleton. "A Dracolyche." Steve gulps and slowly turns to the door. "Screw this. I'm not paid enough for this shit."**

**Steve walks out and begins to walk through the parking lot, but running footsteps make him turn to see a huge wolf-like creature running towards him, fast. Steve couldn't get out of the way as the wolf jumped and bites down on Steve's shoulder. Steve screams in pain, but the wolf lets go and turns to the Shade, the Lyche, and the Dracolyche and charges at them. "A werewolf? I'm dreaming. That's the only explaination. I'm dreaming."**

**Steve turns and begins to run towards the Receiving building, but stops at the sight of the full moon. "No…no…no…I…I…" Steve groans as his body begins to shake all over. Steve yells in agony as he begins to feel his body morph. Steve passes out half way through the transformation.**

**Steve wakes up the next morning in the middle of the woods. Steve begins to rise, but falls down groaning in pain. "Man…why do I feel like I drank three times my weight in beer?" Steve asks holding his head. Then everything that happened flashed in his mind, making his headache worse.**

**Steve finishes his transformation and glares back at the Shade, Lyche, and Dracolyche fighting the lone werewolf. Steve rushes in and jumps on the unprepared Shade, tearing him to shreds with his claws and teeth. The other werewolf takes advantage as the Lyche turns towards Steve to strike, but the werewolf drives his fist through the head of the Lyche and begins to take apart the body of the Lyche. The Dracolyche throws its tail towards Steve and the werewolf, knocking them both away from its dead companions.**

**Steve and the werewolf go flying through the air and land on a couple of cars in the parking lot. They both get up and charge at the Dracolyche, jumping onto it and digging in with their claws and teeth. After several minutes of the struggle the Dracolyche finally falls to the ground, too hurt to stand anymore as Steve and the other werewolf being to tear the Dracolyche to shreds. Once it was dead they both look up at the moon and howl loudly before running off in separate directions.**

**Steve shakes his head to clear it, but the motion only makes his head hurt worse. "God, what the hell is happening?" Steve slowly gets to his feet, too sore to move quickly, and begins to walk in some direction.**

_**End of flashback.**_

**Evan looks to the ground and sighs, "I really wish I had a cigarette right now."**

**Raven pulls a pack from her pocket and hands it to Evan. He then looks at her puzzled. Raven smiles, "You dropped them earlier."**

**Evan takes them with a smile, "Thanks."**

**Evan then takes the pack and lights one. He then takes a long drag and says, "Anyways, after that I was picked up by a slave caravan and sold to a demon known as Turk. He treated all his slaves like dirt, but treated me like I was a wild animal. He put me in muzzles, put me in cage matches with other werewolves, beat me when I wouldn't listen. It was hell. After the deal was struck with the other beings and humans was made I killed Turk for what he did to me. I guess that's why I became a Demon Hunter. I don't want anyone to have to suffer like I did for those years." **

**Evan takes another drag and looks at Raven. "That's my story."**

**Raven looks to the ground, feeling a little saddened, "It must've been so hard for you."**

**Evan then says, "It was.....but the only thing that kept me going was the thought of you."**

**Raven's eyes widened and she looks at Evan.**

**Dawn finally came. Evan and Raven slept, leaning against one another. Raven opens one eye and then yawns. Everything was wet from the rain as the sun shined through the trees. Raven then puts her hand out to block the sun from her eyes. She then grunts a little as she wakes herself up, "Mm...........damn sun!"**

**She then yawns as she forces herself to stand up. She then stretches herself out as Evan then opens his eyes as well. He rubs them and yawns. He then stands up and cracks his neck. Raven sees Evan and smiles, "Sleep well?"**

**Evan smiles, "Oh yeah."**

**Raven smiles, "I'm glad."**

**Raven then sighs, "Let's go home."**

**With that, they both walked home. After a short while, Raven and Evan walk through the door of their home. Serenity came running, "Are you guys okay??"**

**Raven nods, "Yeah....we're fine."**

**Serenity sighs, "That's good."**

**She then sees Raven's wounds were still there. Serenity then says, "Your wounds......"**

**Raven looks, "Oh, these? Don't worry about them."**

**Serenity then grabs Raven, "Let me see."**

**Raven backs away, "No! Get away!"**

**Serenity insists, "Let me see! Don't be stubborn!"**

**Raven then gets out of Serenity's grasp, "I'm not being stubborn! I just don't like other people trying to touch my wounds!!"**

**Serenity sighs, "Just let me look at them!"**

**Raven runs, "No!"**

**She then runs to her room and slams the door. Hova walks in and sees Raven run. He looks to Serenity, "What's up with her?"**

**Raven sits in her room. She then lifts her shirt and looks at her wound. She sighs in frustration. She then lifts her shirt back down and stands up. She then walks to her mirror. She sees her lip was already healed. She smiles a bit as she lifts up her bangs to see her forehead wound. It was halfway healed. Her hand then turns blue and she heals it.**

**Just then, a knock was on the door. Raven answers it. It was Evan. He looks at her, "Can I come in?"**

**Raven steps aside and says quietly, "Sure."**

**Evan walks in. Raven closes the door. Evan turns and faces her, "Let me see."**

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "See what?"**

**Evan sighs, "Your wound."**

**Raven sighs out of frustration, "Fine."**

**She then lifts up her shirt. Evan moves closer to Raven and looks at it. It looked pretty bad. Evan gently touches it, "Does it hurt?"**

**Raven then says, "Not really."**

**Evan then says, "Is there anyway you can heal it?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "I can only heal it little by little and wrap it up."**

**Evan nods, "Okay. Are you sure you're alright? You took quite a beating last night."**

**Raven chuckles, "I'm sure. Thanks for your concern."**

**Evan smiles, "You're welcome."**

**With that, he leaves the room. Raven looks and sighs. She then takes off her shirt and removes the bloodied up bandages. She then digs in her drawer and gets out new ones. She then heals her wound a little with her hand and then bandages it back up. She then goes to her bed and takes a nap.**

**Hours had passed and it was now dark out. Evan was laying in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He couldn't help but feel the worst was about to happen. Question was what?**

**Raven is still alseep in her bed. Her window was open. Cool winds crept through her room. Raven rolls onto her back and feels a cold hand graze the side of her face. She opens her eyes to see Dimus sitting up beside her. Raven's eyes widened, "Dimus?"**

**She then sits up, "Are you alright?"**

**Dimus smiles as he knew she meant his wounds. He then says, "I'm fine. I'm all healed."**

**Raven nods, "That's good."**

**Dimus then looks at Raven. She looks back at him, "What?"**

**Dimus then says, "Nothing."**

**Raven then asks, "W-why'd you act the way you did towards Evan last night?"**

**Dimus then says, "He wants to steal you from me. I don't like it. I'd hate any man who would even **_**dare**_** try."**

**Raven looks down, "Oh. I see."**

**Dimus then lifts her face up. He then begins to kiss her. Raven kisses back. Dimus then wraps his arms around her, getting a good grip. Raven then wraps her arms around him. Dimus parts the kiss, "The more I'm around you....the more I can't control myself!"**

**Raven whispers, **_**"Then take me."**_

**Raven then continues the kiss. Dimus kisses back more wildly. Dimus parts the kiss again, "I....I can't. I might loss control again like before."**

**Raven whispers, **_**"I don't care. I want you."**_

**Dimus then places her hand on his chest, "I have no life in my body. I'm a monster."**

**Raven feels no heart beat in his chest. She then leans up, "That's one of the things I love you for."**

**Dimus' eyes widened. He then frowns, "I don't want to bite you. I **_**never**_** want to harm you."**

**Raven then says, "I don't care. I've always wanted to be like you. Allow me to be with you....through your world."**

**Raven then kisses Dimus. He then kisses back. Dimus pulls back, "I......can't! I love you too much to cause you such a curse!!"**

**Dimus then places both hands on her face, "I love you so much!!"**

**Raven whispers, **_**"So you'll allow me to die like all the other humans?"**_

**Dimus' eyes widened. He couldn't bare the very thought of Raven's death. Dimus then whispers, **_**"Raven...."**_

**He then begins to kiss her wildly. Raven kisses back. Raven whispers, **_**"Make me like you. Let me see what you see, hear what you hear, feel what you feel."**_

**Dimus then lifts Raven up a little and begins to kiss her neck. Raven lifts her head up and sighs in pleasure. Dimus then begins to lick Raven's throat, tasting her.**

**Dimus then leans her back in his arms, "Do you wish to live a life of eternity in the darkness of the night?"**

**Raven replies, "If it means being with you. I will."**

**Dimus then says, "In return.......I give you powers of the storm, have control of the beasts that walk on this earth, and become my Queen of Darkness."**

**Raven whispers, **_**"Yes."**_

**Meanwhile, Evan smells the air and smells Dimus in the house. He growls into a sit up. He then walks out of his room, getting a really bad gut feeling.**

**Dimus kisses Raven's neck. He then began to shed tears, not believing what he was about to do. His fangs grew and his eyes became red. His lets out a small growl. He then finally bites down onto Raven's neck. Raven gasps and feels a small utter pain go into her neck. She lets out a small moan in pain, "Uhh...aaahhhh....."**

**Dimus' eyes widened at the taste of Raven's blood. The most purest thing he ever tasted. He finally lets go and lets out a huge gasp. He then slices his chest with his sharp nail. Black blood began to bleed from it. He looks down at Raven, "Drink from my blood, let us become one and live side by side for eternity."**

**Raven nods and sits up. She then leans into Dimus' chest and began to suck on his wound. She began to drink his blood. Dimus then began to breathe heavily, going wild and becoming more and more aroused. Raven kept on going. She began to scratch the sides of his chest as she drank more. The taste was sensual. It set her blood on fire, giving her orgasims in every direction of her body. Dimus arches himself back, moaning in pleasure. **

**Evan then walks in the hallway and to Raven's room. He knocks, "Raven?"**

**Dimus looks up and growls as his eyes once again became red. He then looks down at Raven, who kept on going. At this point, he didn't care. Everything felt so good.**

**Evan puts his ear against the door. He then smells Dimus in with her. He then got a bad feeling again, "Raven!"**

**He began to slam on the door, trying to break it down.**

**Dimus then shoves Raven back. She gasps and lets out a small moan. Dimus then wipes the blood from her blood covered lips. Raven began to breathe heavily, feeling so alive. Dimus waves a hand over her face, "Sleep my love."**

**Raven does so. Dimus then looks to the door, which was still being banged on. He growls and disappears into the night shadows.**

**Evan finally breaks the door down, "Raven!!!"**

**He then runs to her and looks at her. His eyes widened as he smells blood on her. He realized it was Dimus' blood. His eyes widened more, "No.....no......he didn't!!!"**

**The others came running in. Sith was the first, "What's going on?!"**

**Evan then says, "I dunno! Dimus did something to her!!"**

**Sith then looks at everyone, "Get out! We need space!"**

**Serenity comes in as the others leave, "Is she okay??"**

**Sith shakes his head, "I dunno. We'll find out soon enough."**

**It was done. Raven was now gonna become a creature of darkness.**

_**A vampire........**_


	23. Chapter 22

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Twenty Two: Dusk Awaits**_

**Raven opens one eye and then opens both. She sits up and rubs them, "Mm....."**

**She then looks to see Sith was sleeping in her chair. Her eyes widened a bit. She then sighs and stands up. She then walks to her mirror. She then looks at herself, feeling slightly different. The only thing that changed was her eyes. They were darker and colder. She absent mindly touches her wound. Her eyes widened when she realized what she was doing. She looks down at her wound. She unbandages her wound and sees it completely healed. Not even a scar was shown.**

**She then looks at her hands. She was also a pinch paler than usual. She felt a little dizzy and drained. She leans on her wall and mutters to herself, "Uh....I don't feel so good...."**

**She then looks in the mirror again. She notices a bite on her neck. Last night was blurry to her. She then grabs one of her black chokers and puts it on, covering it. A voice was heard, "Finally....you're up."**

**She looks to see it was Sith. He stands up and walks to her, "How do you feel?"**

**Raven replies, "A little sick to be honest."**

**Sith asks, "How sick?"**

**Raven says, "I feel a pinch dizzy, drained, and the need to throw up."**

**Sith then feels Raven's forehead, "You're starting to have cold skin."**

**Raven takes in a breath, "What happened?"**

**Sith then takes off Raven's choker. He touches the bite and says, "**_**This**_** happened!"**

**Raven makes a puzzled expression, "What?"**

**Sith then says, "You've been bitten."**

**Raven asks, "By what?"**

**Bits and pieces of last night were starting to come back to her. Sith then says, "You've been bitten by a vampire. Evan thinks it was Dimus that did this to you, since he was the last one here with you last night."**

**Raven looks to the floor, "Dimus?"**

**She then got sudden flashes of Dimus biting her and her drinking his blood from his chest. It was all starting to go back to her. Sith then says, "We're gonna have to watch you carefully. Starting now, you only got two days before your full transformation. I suggest you be careful with others and yourself."**

**With that, Sith walks out of the room. As Sith goes into the hallway, Evan goes up to Sith, "How is she?"**

**Sith sighs, "She's awake now. She seems to remember last night only barely."**

**Evan nods, "I see."**

**With that, Sith leaves while Evan walks into Raven's room, "Raven?"**

**Raven looks, "Evan."**

**Evan asks, "How do you feel?"**

**Raven sighs, "Sick."**

**Evan nods. He then walks up to her and looks at her bite. There was no mistaking it, it was indeed a vampire bite. Evan started to shake with anger, "I....can't believe......Dimus would do **_**this**_** to you!!"**

**Raven looks at Evan. She then smiles a bit, "It might not be as bad as you think."**

**Evan raises an eyebrow, "How so?"**

**Raven smiles a little, "You know me......I've always compared myself to a vampire....and now I'm **_**becoming**_** one. Look....my wound is healed."**

**Raven lifts her shirt to show where her wound use to be. Evan takes a good look at it. Evan then looks at Raven again, "Well...that's good at least."**

**Raven nods and smiles. Evan then places a hand on the side of her face, "Well....just be extra careful, alright?"**

**Raven places a hand on his, "I will."**

**Evan then kisses her forehead. Raven closes her eyes and smiles. With that, Evan goes to the door. Before he leaves, he says, "You should rest if you feel sick."**

**After he left, Raven looks at herself once again in the mirror.**

**A few hours later, Raven wakes up from a nap. She yawns, still feeling abnormally tired. She then gets up and gets dressed into her usual wear. She then walks into the livingroom, where the rest of the gang were. Serenity leaps up from her seat, "Raven! Are you okay?"**

**Raven rubs her eyes and nods, "Yeah....I'm fine."**

**Serenity sighs in relief, "Thank goodness."**

**Everyone stares at her. Raven looks, "What?"**

**Hikari gets up and smiles, "Is it true? Are you becoming a creature of darkness?"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Uhh...."**

**Sith sighs, "Guys......we already talked about this. We all agreed to not bring this up!"**

**Raven feels a pinch of rage. She then says, "Oh you did did you?"**

**She then looks to Hikari and says in a half yell, "Yes! I'm becoming a vampire! I'm becoming a worthless bloodsucker!! Happy?"**

**With that she goes out of the front door and slams it.**

**Everyone looks at one another. Hova then says from his seat, "Well.....that went well."**

**Everyone else looks at him. Hova shrugs, "What?"**

**Evan gets up and goes to leave. Sith asks, "And where're you going?"**

**Evan looks at Sith, "After Raven. She shouldn't be out there alone when she's ill and weak from last night!"**

**Before anyone could say anything else, Evan was already gone. Serenity gets up, "I'm going too!"**

**Coslotus then says, "Let them go. They'll be back."**

**Serenity places her hands on her hips, "Has it occurred to anyone that**_** I'm **_**her bestfriend?!!"**

**Raven wanders the streets, angry. She didn't know why, but she felt more angry than usual. She then walks by a strange store. She hears a voice from inside, "Excuse me? Do you have a minute?"**

**She looks inside and sees an old lady. She was wearing way too many eagle feathers and she wore a white robe. She stood at least 4,0 ft. in height and she had hazel coloured eyes. She then smiles, "Come in, child."**

**She then walks inside. Raven was confused. She then looks around and then finally decided to follow her. As soon as Raven walks inside, she looks around. There was nothing but charms, masks, bottles of strange things, and everything you would find in only once place. A **_**fortune teller's **_**shop.**

**The old lady turns around as soon she's at a table. She smiles, "Have a seat."**

**Raven does so. She seats herself at the table. The old lady then sits across from her. She smiles at Raven, "I suppose you're wondering **_**why**_** I called you in here?"**

**Raven then says, "I'm wondering a lot of things."**

**The old lady smiles, "I'm gonna give you a free reading."**

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "Why?"**

**The old lady's smile widens, "Because.....I sense something special about you. It's not everyday I come across that."**

**Raven then asks, "Who are you exactly?"**

**The old lady smiles once more, "I am Iilda Grimwood."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "**_**Grimwood**_**?? Y-you mean....y-you're related t-to--??"**

**Iilda nods, "That's right. I'm Agatha Grimwood's older sister."**

**Raven gasps, "Agatha's **_**sister**_**?"**

**Iilda sighs in frustration, "Yes!! I just said that! Can we focus on **_**you**_**?!"**

**Raven nods, "Oh....uh.....sorry."**

**Iilda sighs and smiles again, "Okay....now."**

**With that, she grabs Raven's hand. She then closes her eyes and concentrates. She then opens her eyes, "Hmm......you've had quite a life. You indeed came across a hard life."**

**Raven smirks and nods, "Yup. That about sums it up."**

**Iilda closes her eyes again. She smiles, "Hmm...."**

**Raven looks, "What?"**

**Iilda then says, "You're in a love triangle."**

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "I am?"**

**Iilda nods, "Yes. You love both of them deeply and feel unsure on what is right as of this moment. One contains a lot of darkness while the other only wants the best for you."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Oh."**

**Iilda lets Raven's hand go. She then says, "It's gonna come down to a very difficult choice. On one hand.....you have a **_**wolf's**_** life. While on the other you hold a **_**snake's**_** life."**

**Raven's eyes widened even more, knowing exactly who she meant now. She then says, "Umm.....don't you mean a **_**bat's**_** life?"**

**Iilda shakes her head, "No. I didn't mean **_**bat**_**. I indeed meant **_**snake**_**. The **_**snake**_** will be the cause of your soon to be downfall."**

**Raven's eyes widened once more as the lady continued, "There's gonna be a war. A war which you and your friends are gonna fight in to the death. During that war.....you will have the biggest loss you've ever had in your life. When that happens, you'll become angry with hate and become vengeful. You will get your revenge.....oh yes........but you will be overwhelmed with loss that is too great to live with. So you'll take that loss out onto your own life, saving those in your path along with it."**

**Raven puts a hand over her mouth, hearing every word. Iilda then says, "I know it sounds horrible.....but you have to understand.......you have a chance to do something about it before it's too late."**

**Raven looks down and then looks back up. She then removes her hand from her mouth, "What will happen.....when I become--?"**

**Iilda finishes, "A vampire?"**

**Raven nods. Iilda smiles, "You'll get stronger, faster, and more powerful than anyone could imagine you to be. You'll be overwhelming.....burning for hunger and lust. At first....you won't know what to make of it all.....but once you do....you'll take full advantage of it and put it to good use. You'll try to feed on one of your friends at first......but you control it and search else where."**

**Raven's eyes widened even more. She then looks to the floor, unsure on what to make of it all. Iilda then puts her hand on Raven's, "Don't you worry one bit. In the end......everything will be fine. Right now.....dusk awaits you."**

**Raven then looks up at Iilda. She looks back at Raven with a warm smile. Raven smiles back.**

**Raven sighs as she walks out of the shop. She walks the streets, looking to the ground. Evan runs around the corner and sees her, "Raven!"**

**Raven turns around and sees Evan, "Evan......what're you doing here?"**

**Evan runs up to her, "Looking for you. Are you alright?"**

**Raven nods, "I'm fine."**

**Evan sighs, "That's good."**

**Raven looks right at Evan, saddened. Evan looks back at her, "What? What's wrong?"**

**Raven sighs and then smiles, "It's nothing. Let's go home."**

**Evan gentily grabs her arm, "Are you sure?"**

**Raven wipes a tear and nods with a smile, "I'm sure. I just want to go home."**

**Evan nods, "Alright...."**

**Evan then puts his arm around her and escourts Raven home. **

**Raven and Evan arrive at their home. Serenity is seen coming out of the house. Serenity then sees Raven and Evan. Her eyes widened, "Guys! I was just about to go out and look for you!"**

**Raven smiles, "There was no need."**

**Serenity then goes up to Raven, "Well.....I was worried about you. Are you alright?"**

**Raven nods, "I'm....I'm fine."**

**Serenity sighs in relief, "That's good."**

**Raven nods. All of them then walk into the house. As soon as they stepped into the livingroom, Raven was greeted by everyone. Hikari runs to her and hugs her, "RORSCHACH!!!"**

**Raven laughs and hugs back, "GAARA!!!"**

**Raven looks to see tons of booze set up, "W-what's going on?"**

**Zero goes up to Raven, "We decided to party, hoping it'd make you feel better."**

**Raven's eyes lit up, "Would it!!"**

**Zero then hands her a Rasberry Vodka Cooler. Zero smiles, "I know it's one of your favs."**

**Raven takes it, "Thanks."**

**She opens it and takes a sip of it. Zero smiles while holding a Corona Beer, "No problem."**

**Hikari jumps up and down, "I bought some Malibu!!!"**

**Pheonix goes to Raven, "Are you okay? You seemed pretty steamed earlier."**

**Raven smiles, "I'm fine now."**

**Hikari shouts, "LET'S PARTY!!!"**

**She then cranks up the stereo. Loud music was now blaring. Coslotus had his arms crossed. Raven looks, "What's the matter with you?"**

**Coslotus then says, "I.....I can't get drunk."**

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "Why not?"**

**Coslotus sighs, "The toxins in booze doesn't affect me. Therefore.....I can't get drunk."**

**Hova laughs after he sips his beer, "Sucks to be you, dude."**

**Coslotus growls and glares in his direction. Raven chuckles, "Yeah. That does suck."**

**Zero laughs, "Oh well. More for us!"**

**Coslotus then goes up to Zero and takes his beer. Zero's eyes widened, "Huh? Hey!! That's mine! You just said you can't drink that!!"**

**Coslotus smirks, "No. I said I can't get **_**drunk**_** off of it. I didn't say I can't still drink it."**

**With that, he drinks Zero's beer. Zero's eyes widened, "Gah!!"**

**Coslotus chuckles, "It sucks not being able to get drunk. But hell.......the stuff still tastes good!"**

**Everyone began to laugh at Zero. Raven then goes to the cooler and grabs another Corona. She hands it to Zero, "Here you go."**

**Zero takes it as he's still thinking of Coslotus' last action, "B-but....I paid for that."**

**Raven chuckles, "Ease up. From the looks of it, there's plenty to go around."**

**Zero smiles, "Yeah."**

**Serenity smiles, "OH! I'm gonna go cook supper and make snacks for everyone!!"**

**Serenity then runs to the kitchen. Hikari smiles, "I'll help!!"**

**Everyone, thinking of the concoction she made for the Rock Golems, all shout, "NOOO!!!"**

**Hikari laughs and runs to the kitchen. Zero slouches, "Shit!"**

**Zero looks to everyone, "Pizza?"**

**Everyone nods, "Yeah!"**

**Zero then goes to the phone and orders pizza. Evan finally grabs a beer and goes to Raven, "Not bad. You storm off and we come back to a party. You should do that more often."**

**Raven laughs, "Yeah, really."**

**Pheonix comes up to Raven and Evan. He smiles, "Ahh.....just like old times, eh Raven?"**

**Raven nods, "Oh yeah! This definately brings back memories."**

**Zero then shouts from the phone, "I'm getting three large pizzas!! What does everyone want?!"**

**Pheonix then says, "Whatever's fine."**

**Raven shouts, "Extra cheese and green peppers! The rest I don't care. I like everything anyways......well.....except anchovies."**

**Some began to chuckle. Zero nods, "Alright."**

**Coslotus then says, "I don't care. As long there's meat on one of them."**

**Evan nods, "Well said."**

**Evan then says, "But.......um....I hate mushrooms. Anything but those."**

**Zero laughs, "Okay."**

**Zero finally hangs up the phone, "Okay. It'll be here in 20 minutes."**

**Pheonix smiles, "Cool."**

**Raven then drinks up her Cooler. Raven smiles, "Ah! Another please."**

**Hova then digs in the cooler and throws Raven another Vodka drink. Raven catches it, "Thanks!"**

**Evan's eyes widened, "You're already on your second?! I'm only on my first!!"**

**Raven smiles, "Oh well! I need this anyways!!"**

**With that, Raven opens her drink and takes a gulp. Raven finally notices Sith wasn't in the room, "Hey. Where's Sith."**

**A voice was heard, "Right here."**

**Raven turns and smiles, "Sith! Where were you?"**

**Sith comes in carrying a big batch of booze, "I was out getting what the **_**idiots**_** forgot."**

**Pheonix and Zero shout,**_** "Hey!!"**_

**Sith smirks, "No party is complete without Scotch, Tequila, and Barcardi."**

**Sythe then comes into the room from behind Sith. Raven runs over to Sith, "Let me see those!"**

**She looks at the booze Sith brought. She pats his shoulder, "Nice selection, kid. Very nice selection!"**

**Sith smiles, "I knew you'd like it. You always loved the strong stuff."**

**Raven smiles, "Right you are, my boy!"**

**Sith and Raven chuckle to one another. The song on the stereo changed. **_**Come Out and Play **_**was the name of the song. The band it was by was called **_**Offspring**_**, a band Raven and Sith haven't heard in a long time. Good music for a good party. **

**While everyone else was interacting, Hova came beside Coslotus and sat down. He drank his beer and then said, "Feels strange being in the same household."**

**Coslotus glares at him, "You have no idea."**

**Hova chuckles, "Still holding onto the same shit, huh? Then again, if it were me.....I'd want to kill everyone."**

**Coslotus smirks, "Not everyone, just most of them."**

**Hova chuckles and hands him a beer, "I guess I'm not forgiven?"**

**Coslotus takes the beer, "Not even close."**

**Hova smirks and raises his beer, "Fair enough. To rivals?"**

**Coslotus cheers his beer to Hova's, "To rivals."**

**Hova takes another drink, "At least we can agree on **_**that**_** much."**

**Coslotus nods, "Yeah."**

**Hova chuckles, "You haven't told them have you? The group I mean."**

**Coslotus shakes his head, "No."**

**Hova laughs, "You should. But I guess I wouldn't want to admit I was outdone either."**

**Coslotus smirks more, "Don't flatter yourself. You only caught me off guard."**

**Hova smirks, "We'll see now won't we?"**

**Coslotus smirks once more, "Yes. We will."**

**They look at one another smirking. They then turn to face the group and take another drink from their beers.**

**A knock was heard at the door. Zero went to answer it. After a few minutes, he comes back with three big boxes of pizzas, "Our food's here!"**

**Pheonix smiles, "Sweet!"**

**Sith then mixes up a few drinks. He then turns to Raven and smirks, "Hey, Sis!"**

**Raven turns, "Yeah?"**

**Sith holds up a big glass, "I just mixed all three drinks I brought over. I dare you to drink it!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "You mean there's Scotch, Tequila, and Bacardi all in that one glass??"**

**Sith nods, "Yup!"**

**Evan sees, "Oh boy."**

**Raven smirks, "Sure! I'll guzzle that!"**

**Serenity comes in with a bunch of snacks with Hikari behind her. She brought in chips with dip, crackers, and some small raw veggies. Serenity sees the pizza, "Awww......I thought **_**I**_** was making supper!"**

**Zero smiles, "Sorry. We ordered as soon as Hikari volunteered to help you cook."**

**Everyone began to laugh. Serenity sighs, "At least it saves me trouble."**

**She then went back to the kitchen to get the soft drinks. The song then changed to **_**We Be Burning **_**by **_**Sean Paul**_**. Pheonix then turns to Raven, "You're gonna drink Sith's drink??"**

**Raven takes the glass from Sith, "That's right."**

**Hova smirks, "This I gotta see."**

**He then stands up and goes to the group to watch. All eyes were on Raven. Hikari runs to the group shouting, "Peer pressure!!"**

**Then everyone joined in saying, **_**"Peer pressure! Peer pressure! Peer pressure!!"**_

**Raven smirks and began to chug down the drink. As she was about to pull away when half was gone, Sith held onto the bottom of the glass to prevent her from doing so. Raven's eyes widened as she chugged the rest. She closed her eyes tight as she finally pulls away from the glass, letting out a huge gasp. She felt a little nauseous. She puts a hand on her mouth as she staggers back. Raven shakes her head, "Woah!!"**

**Everyone looks at her. Hikari laughs, "Are you okay?"**

**Raven nods, "Ooooooh yeah!!"**

**She felt a little dizzy. She staggered forward a bit and looks to Sith. She said one word, "Coke."**

**Sith nods and knew right away what she meant. He ran and got a glass of Coca Cola with ice. Raven grabs it and takes little sips at a time, letting the cold liquid slide down her throat. It was better compared to the burning, bitter liquid she just drank a few seconds ago. The burning still lingered from Sith's drink. Sith looks at Raven, "Well?"**

**Raven waves her hand and slurrs, "That.....was one fucking.....strong drink!!"**

**Everyone laughed. Zero then says, "Wow. You're gonna wake up sick tomorrow."**

**Raven staggers, "Who cares? I only care about now."**

**Hikari shouts, "Yays!!!"**

**Zero hands Raven a slice of pizza, "This'll help."**

**Raven slurrs, "Yess......food always helpss....."**

**She then began to eat the pizza, feeling slightly better. Evan goes beside Raven, "Are you alright?"**

**Raven smiles, "Alright? I feel great!! Just tipsy is all."**

**Raven staggers sideways and leans against Evan, "See? I'm great!"**

**Evan sighs and shakes his head. He then smiles, "Let me help you."**

**Evan helps Raven to steady herself. Raven sighs as her cheeks became red from drunkeness, "Thanks...."**

**Sith hands Sythe a few slices of pizza. Sythe then engulfs them in a few bites. Sith chuckles and pets Sythe's head.**

**Serenity comes in with the soft drinks. Raven staggers to Serenity and wraps an arm around her, "Hey, buddy old pal!!"**

**Serenity's eyes widened, "Oh no! You're drunk already."**

**Raven nods, "F-fuck yeah!! Got that right!"**

**That night, everyone partied till everyone dropped and passed out. No matter what place they were.**


	24. Chapter 23

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Twenty Three: Past, Darkness, Future**_

**Raven opens one eye and wakes herself up. She sits up and realizes she was passed out on the coffee table in the livingroom. She yawns as she stands herself up. She shakes her head to snap out of it. She felt really, really sick. She figured it was from everything she drank the other night. She looks around to see Hova passed out in a chair, Zero on the couch, and Sythe on the floor. Raven shakes her head and sighs.**

**Her eyes widened as she puts a hand on her mouth, "Guh..."**

**She then runs into the bathroom and began to throw up into the toilet. She coughs at the vile taste in her mouth. Her eyes widened as she began to puke once more. She began to shake, feeling nervous. One of the worst things she hated......vomitting. She began to breathe heavily. She found it odd. She never threw up often, in fact, she never did in years. She looks down and gasps. She sees dark blood in the toilet. It was almost black. She wipes her mouth as she whispers to herself, **_**"W-what's happening to me?"**_

**She hears a moan, "Hm?"**

**She looks to see Hikari sit up from the bath tub. Raven's eyes widened, "Hikari?"**

**Hikari rubs her eyes, "Morning."**

**Raven would normally laugh at something like this. Hikari had passed out in the bath tub with no explaination. Usually very funny, but not this time. All Raven replied faintly was, "Hey"**

**She then flushes the toilet before anyone could see what she just threw up. Hikari laughs, "Sickness kicking in?"**

**Raven chuckles vaguely, "Oh yeah."**

**She then gets up, "See ya."**

**Raven leaves as Hikari watches with concern. Raven then goes into her room and closes her door. She then goes to her mirrior. She looks at herself. She was paler than before and her eyes were deep black. Raven blinks and wipes the left over blood from her mouth. Raven began to shiver, "W-why did I throw up blood?"**

**Raven then feels a painful pulse in her chest. **_**Ba-bump! Ba-bump!**_

**Raven grabs her chest, "Gah!!!!" **

**She falls to her knees as the pulse kept on beating over and over again, slowly. **_**Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump!**_

**Raven screams and falls onto her back, still clenching her chest. Her heart began to slow with each passing moment. She shakes again, "W-what's.....going on.....with me?"**

**Raven began to pant like she just ran miles on end. She turns herself over, regaining her breath. She then stands as her pulse began to slow once more as the pain disappeared. She was still shivering. Raven then shakes her head to snap out of it. She then feels a cold draft behind her. Her eyes widened and she looks to see Dimus. Raven's eyes widened, "Dimus?"**

**Dimus walks up to her and strokes the side of her face. Raven slaps his hand away and growls, "What the hell did you do to me?!!"**

**Dimus sighs and looks to the floor, ashamed. He says lowly, "What you wished."**

**Raven grabs Dimus by the shirt, "I didn't wish for this!!! To be sick like a dog and throw up blood!!"**

**Dimus looks her in the eyes, "It's part of the transformation. It's your last day before your body dies. Your body is dying. Once it's does that, you become immortal. You only have until dusk before you transform fully."**

**Before Raven went to say something, there was a knock, "Raven? Are you okay? I heard you scream."**

**It was Serenity. Raven lets go of Dimus and calls, "Come back later!"**

**Serenity says from behind the door, "Let's talk. We haven't talked in a while."**

**Raven opens the door a crack, "What is it?"**

**Serenity gasps as soon as she notices Raven's skin colour, "Oh no. You're paler than usual! Are you alright."**

**Raven's eyes go colder, "I'm fine. I'm busy right now."**

**Serenity grabs the door before Raven could close it, "Wait! I want to talk now! You're hiding something! I want to know."**

**Raven's look turns into a glare. She growls, "I'm busy!"**

**Serenity shouts, "With what?!"**

**Raven growls once more and shouts, "Nothing that's any of YOUR business!!! Now get lost!!!"**

**Serenity gasps, "**_**Carrie!!! **_**How could you say that?!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened and then narrowed in anger. They began to turn red. She grabs Serenity's shirt and says in a sinister voice, "Don't.....call me.....by that name......**_**ever! **_**I no longer go by that name!! Now GET LOST!!!!"**

**Raven let's go of Serenity. Fear was struck in her eyes. She began to shed tears. She says softly, "I thought.....all I was doing......was being a friend......"**

**With that, Serenity turns and runs to her room, crying. Raven then growls and slams the door. Dimus goes up to her, "Quite a performance there."**

**Raven began to shed tears, "Just get me out of here!"**

**Raven began to cry, realizing what she had done. She never meant to yell at Serenity. None of this was her fault. This wasn't her. Not at all. She would never yell at Serenity like she just had. What was she truely becoming?**

**Dimus looks at Raven and nods at her request. He lifts her off her feet. He then goes out the window and flies with Raven in his arms. Dimus felt a great feeling of despair as he watched Raven's tears flow.**

**After a little while, Dimus and Raven arrive at his castle. Dimus flies onto a balcony. He walks inside and sets her on a bed. The room was big. It was dark-like, with dark greyish blue walls, and black boarders around the room. He also had a big dresser with a huge mirrior on it. There was also another dresser and then two big doors on side of the room and a single big one on the other. Raven assumed the single door had to be the closet. The bed had gloomy red blankets made from silk and a giant black canopy. This room felt secure and comfortable.**

**Dimus sits beside Raven, "How do you feel?"**

**Raven sniffles and wipes her tears, "L-like a stupid loser.....or better yet.....a stupid bitch."**

**Dimus wraps an arm around her, "Aww.....my love, you aren't any of those things."**

**Raven sheds more tears, "B-but I just exploded at my own bestfriend for no reason when all she wanted to do was try and help me."**

**Dimus leans Raven into himself and says softly, "That wasn't your fault. It was your transformation interfering with your emotions. Part of the transformation is feeling a great deal of anger and despair."**

**Raven sniffles more, "B-but.......still....."**

**Dimus rests his head on top of hers, "I know.....I know it hurts. I know how you feel. I'm sorry you have to go through this.......you deserve better than this. **_**Far**_** beyond better."**

**Raven then looks up at Dimus as he says, "I know exactly what you're going through. First few days of my transformation.......I ended up killing my bestfriend. You should be grateful that yelling was all that you did to her. Arguments blow over with time.......losing a friend's life doesn't."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Y-you killed your bestfriend?"**

**Dimus nods sadly. Raven then closes her eyes and gives him a gentle kiss on his cheek. Dimus smiles softly and kisses her lips. He then wipes Raven's tears with his finger tips, "Raven tears should never have to manifest. It's too sacred and rare for any man to have to witness. A crying raven only makes the path more difficult for the follower and makes them lose their way. Those who make a raven cry should be punished for hurting something so pure."**

**Raven's eyes widened, feeling a great deal of warmth arise from her. Dimus smiles and then kisses her softly on her lips. Raven quivered only a little. She then places a hand on Dimus' hand, which was on the side of her tear streamed face. Dimus kisses Raven's cheek, tasting her tears. It tasted sweet and yet a pinch salty.....but only a pinch. He whispers, "I love you, my angel of darkness....."**

**Raven then says, "I.....I love you too."**

**Dimus' eyes widened more. Raven rarely said those words. It joyed Dimus to hear them from her. Dimus then smiles and kisses her once again. Dimus breaks away from the kiss as soon there was a knock on his door. Dimus then gets up and answers it. It was Den Maco. She crosses her arms, "What are you up to, **_**little**_** brother?"**

**Dimus opens the door wider, "Nothing out of the ordinary, dear sister."**

**Den Maco enters and sees Raven. Her eyes narrow, "I see. You're with that **_**mortal**_**. I should've suspected so."**

**Dimus grunts and says, "And what's wrong with that? Haven't we already discussed this?"**

**Den Maco smirks, "Yes we have, little brother."**

**Raven stands and places her hand on the banister of the bed as she thinks to herself, **_**"They discussed matters.....about me??"**_

**Den Maco walks up to Raven and smells the side of her face. Raven's eyes widened a little. Den Maco then says, "Hm.....you smell different from before. Odd."**

**She then turns to Dimus, "Very well. I'll leave you two be."**

**As she went to leave, Raven moves her hand along the banister absent mindedly. There was a small spike on it causing Raven to prick herself. Raven jerks her hand away, "Ow!"**

**She looks at the palm of her hand. It had a small scratch on the side, bleeding a ruby red stream on her skin. Den Maco pauses and smells Raven's blood in the air. Invigorating and sensual. It was also strong and lusting. It drew Den Maco in in an instant. She then turns with glowing red eyes. Before anyone knew what was going on, Den Maco jumps at Raven with fangs and claws at the ready. As soon as Den Maco was inches away from her attack, Dimus roars and appears in front of her with such speed. Dimus then shoves Den Maco up against the wall, with his arm locking her throat and her in place. Den Maco tried to struggle, still smelling Raven's blood. Den Maco growls loudly. Dimus roars vampirically, "You are not to attack HER!!!! UNDERSTAND?!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened. Dimus looked just as angry as he was the night he fought Evan. Den Maco screams, "LET GO!!!"**

**Dimus does so and looks at her with evil eyes. He says lowly, "Get out!!"**

**Den Maco walks to the door and says coldly, "If you weren't my brother......I'd killed you long ago."**

**Dimus roars fiercely, "OUT!!!!!!!"**

**Den Maco then leaves the room. Raven's eyes were still widened at what just happened. Dimus turns to her and takes a deep breath as he shoke with anger. Raven goes up to him, "Are you okay?"**

**With no word, Dimus grabs Raven's hand as it still bled. He then traces the stream of blood with his tongue. As soon as he got to the scratch, he began to suck on it, tasting Raven's blood again. How he yearned for that taste again. It was pure and sweet. Like liquidfied fire being added to his blood stream. It gave him a great deal of arousion as he tasted a little more. Raven's eyes widened at the sudden action, but went with it. Dimus finally looks at her. Raven steps closer to him. Dimus finally stops sucking on Raven's small wound and begins to kiss her as Raven began to kiss him. Raven could taste her own blood. It tasted even better than before for some strange reason. Raven wraps her arms around Dimus as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her with such ferocity. Dimus then starts to kiss Raven's neck. Raven leans her head back with a soft sigh. **

**Dimus pulls away a little bit to look at Raven. He whispers, **_**"Next time she does that.......I'll kill her."**_

**Raven eyes widened, knowing he meant Den Maco. Dimus wanted more. He wanted Raven there and now. Dimus then tried to control his urges. He then says, "I should take you home. I'm sorry for Den Maco's behavior."**

**Raven nods, "It's alright."**

**Dimus then swipes her off her feet, "I would let you stay, but after **_**that**_**......who knows what might happen next."**

**With that, he went to his balcony with Raven in his arms and flew off with her.**

**Dimus then arrives at Raven's home. He then places her on her feet as soon as they stepped inside her room through her window. Dimus then kisses her once again, "I'll see you tomorrow, okay my love?"**

**Raven nods and whispers, **_**"Okay."**_

**With that, Dimus goes out the window and flies off. Raven looks out the window after him. She then looks down at her hand to see the scratch was already healed. Raven's eyes widened at the sight.**

**She then turns and opens her bedroom door. She goes to the livingroom and sees everyone there. Sith stands, "Where the hell were you?!"**

**Raven replies, "I had some stuff to sort out. Sorry to worry you."**

**Sith touches the side of her face and looks at her eyes. Sith sighs, "You have until sundown before you're a full vampire."**

**Sith noticed how pale Raven was and how cold her eyes were. Pheonix looks at Raven too, "You're also gonna get cravings you've never had before, resulting in hurting your friends possibly. You already went through the moodswings and attitude changes."**

**Raven sees that Serenity wasn't in the room. Her eyes widened, "W-where's Serenity?"**

**Serenity's voice was heard behind Raven, "Right here."**

**Raven turns and instantly hugs her, "I'm sorry!! I'm sooo sorry!! I won't yell at you like that again!!!"**

**Serenity smiles, "It's alright. Sith and Pheonix filled me in on the vampiric traits.....so it's cool."**

**Raven smiles, "I'm so glad."**

**Serenity smiles again, "I could never stay mad at you anyways."**

**Coslotus sighs, "You're not gonna kiss and make up are you?"**

**Everyone began to laugh at the sudden comment. Hova smirks, "You're just jealous cause you can't any action from **_**any**_** sex."**

**Coslotus growls, "How bout I start some up right now, starting with tearing **_**you**_** in two!!"**

**Raven waves her hands, "Woah woah, you two! What is up with this rivalry?!"**

**Coslotus turns away, "Because Hova is a back stabber!!"**

**Hova then says, "Yeah right! He's just mad cause I outdid him at some point and now he hates me for it."**

**Coslotus growls, "That's not it at all!!!"**

**Raven sits on a chair, "Okay.....okay. Why don't you start from the top and tell us what happened between you two? You guys use to be bestfriends! What in hell happened to you that changed that?"**

**Coslotus sighs, "Fine. I'll tell you."**

**Hova then says, "Noooo......**_**we'll**_** tell you."**

**Everyone then grabs a seat, except for Sith and Evan. Sith leaned against the side of the television as Evan leaned his back against the wall and lit up a cigarette, ready to listen. Once everyone was settled, Coslotus started, "It all began after **_**The Great Release Period**_** after I found Serenity."**

_**Flashback:**_

**Coslotus was fighting off a few demons. After killing one, the other went to attack him from behind until.....**_**BANG!**_

**The demon was shot in the head dead. Coslotus looked over to see Hova holding out a gun with a pinch of smoke coming from the end of it. He smirks, "Should I shoot you too, creature?"**

**Coslotus took a good look at him. He smirks, "Luke."**

**Hova's eyes widened at the name. He mutters, "W-what the--? How--?"**

**Coslotus chuckles, "Don't you recognize me?"**

**Hova takes a good look at Coslotus, "J-John?? Dude!!!"**

**Hova lowers his gun down at once and goes up to Coslotus, "I thought I'd never see you again!! What the hell happened to you?!!"**

**Coslotus sighs, "Let's just say another dimension isn't a good place to go."**

**Hova smiles, "Sick! So you have like powers and shit?"**

**Coslotus replies, "Sort of."**

_**Back to now:**_

**Hova then says, "After we found one another......we decided to stick together."**

_**Back to flashback:**_

**Hova runs to Coslotus, "Dude! I just got promoted!!"**

**He shows Coslotus a piece of paper. He reads it. Coslotus raises an eyebrow, "**_**An assassin for demons**_**?"**

**Hova nods, "That's right! The boss says I have supreme skills and that I'm **_**more**_** than qualified for the job. Not only do I get a shit load of money, but I also get to rid of the demons that screw up our world too."**

**Coslotus smiles, "Good for you."**

**Hova smiles, "So.....what do **_**you**_** plan on doing with your life?"**

**Coslotus walks on ahead, "I can get by. I don't take orders....I prefer freedom more than anything."**

**Hova catches up to Coslotus, "So.....pretty much nothing? Ha ha! Still the same as always. Lazy and carefree."**

**Coslotus looks at Hova with a smirk and they began to laugh.**

**Days passed by and Hova stood in front of his boss with the lastest report. His boss was a fat man in a stripped suit. He smirks under his grey mustache. On the desk, it said the name **_**Mowzer**_**. He then says, "Good, Hova. You've proven yourself quite a bit!"**

**Hova nods, "Thank you, Sir."**

**Mowzer smirks, "Now....how would you like a **_**higher**_** ranking?"**

**Hova's eyes widened, "I.....I'd be honoured!"**

**Hova's been wanting a higher rank for a long time. Mowzer smirks once more and throws down a file, "All you have to do is kill that demon in the file."**

**Hova looks at the file and sees Coslotus' picture. His eyes widened at once, "B-but.....Sir! This is no demon!"**

**Mowzer turns and chuckles, "He's still a **_**bother**_**. I want you to **_**kill**_** him. Kill him and you get your rank. Are we clear?"**

**Hova looks to the floor, "Crystal."**

**A week later, a riot from a demon prison broke out and started to disrupt the city. Coslotus and Hova were there fighting them off, side by side. As more and more demons flooded the area, Hova and Coslotus were separted. Hova turns and laughs. He then gets out his guns and began shooting everything in his path. He then turns and sees Coslotus. He points his gun at him. Coslotus' eyes widened, "W-what are you doing??"**

**Hova sighs, "I was assigned to kill you in exchange for the promotion I want! I choose the **_**promotion**_**!!"**

_**Back to now:**_

**Hova shouts, "Hold on!! That's not what happened!!"**

**Coslotus growls, "That did **_**so**_** happen!!"**

**Hova shakes his head, "No it didn't!! Is your head full of **_**that**_** much saw dust??"**

**Hova sighs, "This is what REALLY happened!!"**

_**Back to flashback:**_

**Hova starts to shoot everything in his path. He then hears laughter from the top of the prison. He looks up to see his boss laughing. Hova's eyes widened, "He......he set this up???"**

**Hova's eyes narrowed in anger and he runs inside the prison. He fights off more and more demons along the way. He then reaches the roof, "YOU!!"**

**Mowzer turns and smirks, "Ah. Hova. I see you're joining in on the fun."**

**Hova goes up to him, "Why?! Why did you do this??"**

**Mowzer smirks, "Why? Because I wanted to. I wanted to see how good your skills REALLY were!"**

**He then turns and looks down, seeing Coslotus taking on all the demons on his own. Mowzer then says, "Look at him. He has so much potential and yet he doesn't want to put it to good use. What a waste. I need you to kill him right now!"**

**Hova shakes his head, "NO!"**

**Mowzer laughs, "If you don't do it.....you can say goodbye to your career. You already made your choice when you agreed to serve **_**me**_** and our **_**human race**_**. If you don't kill him....then I will!!"**

**Mowzer gets out a sniper rifle and makes a shot. Hova's eyes widened, "NO!"**

**He then grabs it from him, "Don't! He was once human!!"**

**Mowzer laughs, "That thing is a disgrace to humans and needs to be put out of it's misery!! So Hova....what's it gonna be? The world? Or him?"**

**Hova looks at Coslotus, feeling guilt. He then gets the rifle at the ready and takes aim. He has a clear shot of Coslotus. Hova began to shake and shed a little bit of tears. Mowzer shouts, "Do IT!! NOW!! Or the agency is gonna hunt him down till he dies!!!"**

**Hova's eyes widened. He then takes aim once more. Hova then closes his eyes and pulls the trigger. He hits Coslotus in the shoulder. He falls back onto his back. He looks up and sees Hova with the gun, "W-why.....?"**

**That was the last word he said before blacking out. Hova drops the gun and walks away, feeling a great pain of anquish, anger, and guilt.**

_**End of flashback:**_

**Hova looks to the floor in saddness, "I pulled the trigger, not wanting to kill him. I didn't and I couldn't. I only did it so the agency didn't hunt him down. I was putting him AND his sister in danger alone. So I shot the gun and walked away without a glance back."**

**Everyone looks at Hova, saddened as well. Raven then says, "So you did it to save Coslotus and Serenity."**

**Coslotus roars, "That is the biggest load of shit ever!! You did it for the money!"**

**Hova shouts, "No I didn't, idiot!! I only did it so my boss wouldn't hunt you down and not only kill you, but possibly Serenity too!!! If you don't want to believe me, fine! But I know what I did."**

**With that, Hova leaves the room. Everyone looks after he left and then turn to Coslotus. He growls and gets up to leave as well. Raven looks, feeling a great clench of remorse.**

**Raven sits in her room, thinking of Coslotus and Hova's story. Would she do the same for Serenity? Yes she would......but.....could she bare to shoot her own friend? She didn't know and hope to never know.**

**Just then, she got another painful clench in her chest. Her eyes widened, "Ngh!!"**

**She falls to the floor onto her knees. **_**Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump!**_

**Raven grunts in pain as her heart began to slow again. The sun was now setting outside. The pain got worse. Raven screams in pain. She arches up and lands forward on all fours. She began to leave scratch marks in her rug, breathing heavily. She rolls onto her back, breathing more heavy. She clenches her chest and growls in pain. **_**Ba-bump! Ba-bump! Ba-bump! BA-BUMP!**_

**Raven screams, "AAAHH!!"**

**Her heart began to slow, slow, then........**_**stop**_**. Raven fell silent for a few moments. All the colour of her skin left her as the sun disappeared into the horizon. Raven's body began to twitch. Raven then gasped loudly as if she had just awaken from a sleep in a closed area with little air. She then feels pains everywhere. She groans in pain as fangs grew. She began to growl, only this time it was different. It was more vampiric-like. Her nails grew as well. The life in her eyes left her and was replaced with death and coldness. Her hair began to grow as well. It grew long and almost wavy. She began to gasp for air, not being able to breathe properly.**

**After a few minutes, silence once again. Raven then arches back and raises herself into a sit up with no effort. After the pain and torture, everything was numb now. No more pain whatsoever. She stands, seeing everything like it was the first time seeing, only different. She then stands and looks around. She looks out into the dark, hearing and seeing everything. Everything felt so wonderful and new sensations ran through her like a plague. She then looks into the mirrior. She could see herself. She touches her face. She was pale and her eyes went from black to a bright brown. Her hair was messy and went to the very bottom of her back. She then does it up into a ponytail.**

**She growls and tears through her drawers. She throws her clothes everywhere. Her eyes widened when she looked inside her closest. She sees a loose looking black dress. Her claws grew and she begins to rip some of it, making it into her own. She then changes into it looks at herself in the mirrior. She felt satisfied with her looks.....**_**for once**_**. She smirks and sees her new fangs, that started to reside. Her dress had rips on the bottom and was really tight at the top and showed her shoulders completely. She then closes her eyes and hears whispers everywhere. She twitches and feels a great feeling of hunger and craving take her under.**

**She then opens her eyes and she smells and senses something that caught her attiention. She looks to her door and smirks.**

**Evan lays on his bed and then sits up when he smells the air. He smells a change in Raven's scent. He then gets up and goes to his door to check on her. As soon as he opens it, he sees Raven standing there. His eyes widened, "R-Raven??"**

**He looked at her appearence. He suddenly felt more drawn in than before. Raven smiles, "Hello, Evan. Can I come in?"**

**Evan, fighting his sudden urges, steps aside, "S-sure."**

**Evan then looks her over, "W-what happened to you??"**

**Raven turns and smiles, "I just went through a **_**change**_**. Nothing more."**

**Raven goes closer to Evan, smelling him. She closes her eyes and then slowly opens them, becoming intoxicated with his scent. Raven then says, "I never noticed until now....but....you have an **_**intensifying**_** scent."**

**Evan's eyes widened, unsure on what to say next. He knew what had happened to her. Her appearence was obvious of the final transformation. He then says, "R-Raven.....maybe you should rest."**

**Evan began to shake, he tried his hardest to remain calm. Raven goes closer, "You're.......shaking....."**

**Evan leans up against the wall, while Raven goes right in front of him. Raven could hear his heart rate. She smirks, "Are you frightened?"**

**Evan shakes his head, "No. I'm just.....a little nervous."**

**Raven leans right up against his chest, "I say you're a lot more than that."**

**Evan couldn't help but smell her scent. It was stronger and more intoxicating. It was far different from an ordinary vampire's smell. Usually he hated the smell of them. But Raven's was different......her scent was drawing him in, making him feel he lusts for it. Raven smirks, "Don't be nervous. I could never have the heart to harm you in any way."**

**With that, she places her lips upon Evan's. His eyes widened at the sudden action. Her lips felt cold and warm at the same time. Evan then closes his eyes and kisses her back. Evan wanted to give in so badly, but couldn't. He knew it was wrong, **_**this**_** was wrong. He pushes Raven back a little, "I....I can't do this! This isn't you!"**

**Raven whispers, **_**"Yes. It's me."**_

**She then kisses him again. Evan pulls away, "No. It's not. It is you.....but you're...........**_**different**_**."**

**Raven smirks, "This is what you've always wanted isn't it? You've always longed for me. Here's your chance to have me."**

**Evan shakes his head, "Not like this, Raven. Not like this."**

**Raven's smirk widens, "We'll see."**

**With that, Raven kisses Evan's lips once again. Evan couldn't resist anymore. He then kisses her wildly and grabs her. She was his. In this moment......she was**_** finally **_**his! Evan then lifts Raven up, hooking her legs around him. He carries her to his bed, while kissing her. Raven wraps her arms around him, kissing him back and tasting him and his warmth. Evan gently places her on the bed and goes on top of her, kissing her passionately. Evan then slides one of Raven's straps from her shoulders and begins to kiss it. He then playfully bites it and lets out a growl.**

**Evan then starts to kiss her neck. Raven sighs in pleasure. Raven gently tugs on Evan's hair and starts to kiss his lips wildly. Evan felt nothing but warmth and sensations flowing between them. He then lifts the bottom of her dress a little ways and hooks one of her legs around him, rubbing it up and down. Raven lets out a small purr from pleasure and flips them both over so she was on top of him. Evan sits up, with Raven still on him and kisses her lips once again. Raven wraps her arms around him tight, feeling more and more aroused with each passing moment. **

**Evan starts to kiss Raven's neck again, breathing his warm breath on her as he growls from pleasure. He then starts to kiss near her cleavage. Raven leans her head back, beginning to breathe loudly. She then places a hand gently on the back of his head as she wraps the other arm around him. More and more heat was felt from both of them. Evan leans back a little to look at her. Raven looks at him and whispers, **_**"I want you. Right here and now."**_

**Before Evan could say anything, Raven kisses his lips again. With passion and intensity at the same time. Evan then pulls her closer against himself as he kisses her back. Raven then gently kisses his cheek and began to kiss his neck. Evan lets out a small whisper-like moan. Before Raven knew it, her fangs grew. As she was about to bite down onto Evan's neck, her eyes widened. She felt his blood flow faster, making her more drawn to him. She stops herself, realizing what she was doing. She at once thought of Dimus. She leans back and shakes her head, "Oh no.........I'm sorry.......I'm so sorry......"**

**Evan looks at her, "Raven?"**

**Raven began to shed tears, "I....I shouldn't have come here!!"**

**She then sprints towards Evan's window. Evan reaches his arm out, "Raven, wait!!!"**

**Raven didn't listen. She dived out his window and took off. Evan ran towards the window and shouts, "Raven!!!"**

**Raven runs away, shedding tears. Right then and there, she was about to feed off of Evan. Right then and there, she became what she swore she would never become.........a **_**cheater**_**.**

**Raven disappears into the shadows. Evan keeps shouting her name. But no answer was heard. All that was left was the silence of the night and the lonliness that lerked within the shadows.**


	25. Chapter 24

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Twenty Four: The Hunt is On**_

**Evan bashes his fist on the window sill. He growls from frustration, "Dammit!!"**

**He then leaves his room and goes to the livingroom. Zero and Sith are seen playing video games, while Hova is watching. Evan says in a near panic, "Raven took off!"**

**Zero still has his eyes on the game, "What else is new?"**

**Evan then adds, "Fully transformed?"**

**Sith looks up from the game, "W-what?? And you let her?!!"**

**Evan's eyes widened, "N-no!! I didn't!"**

**Sith drops his paddle and stands up and goes right in front of Evan, "Did you upset her?"**

**Evan's eyes widened more, "W-what?!"**

**Sith repeats, "Did you **_**upset**_** her?!"**

**As Evan was about to answer, Sith says darkly, "Tell me what happened!! ALL of it!!"**

**Evan shrugs, "I don't know. All I know is that I was in my room and just as I was about to check up on her........she was there as soon as I opened my bedroom door."**

**Sith crosses his arms as he listens to Evan's every word, analyzing the situation bit by bit. He then says, "Was she a full vampire when she came to you?"**

**Sith looks at Evan as he nods. Sith then says, "Let's talk in my room."**

**Evan nods, "Alright."**

**As Sith and Evan leave the room, Zero watches and sighs, "Oh boy. First monsters......evil witches....and now a **_**crazy vampire woman**_**."**

**Hova nods, "Yeah. Crazy world."**

**Zero nods, "Exactly."**

**Zero lifts up the paddle, "Care to play? Since Sith is gone?"**

**Hova takes the paddle with a sigh, "Sure. What the hell."**

**Zero and Hova start to play **_**Call of Duty World at War**_**, the **_**Nazi Zombie **_**levels.**

**Sith leads Evan to his room. Once there, Sith opens his door and allows Evan to enter in first. Evan looks around, not having been into Sith's room. There was a desk with a lamp, a black dresser, a television with a few game systems on top of a mid sized shelf, and a night stand with a bunch of chain necklaces and a black book. The room was painted a dark navy colour. He also had posters on the walls as well. There were skull posters, Reaper posters, demon girl posters, and a poster of a flaming sythe. In the corner was Sith's bed which had black blankets with matching pillows. **

**Sith grabs a wooden chair and sits in it. He then points to another one across the room, "Have a seat."**

**Evan does so. Sith sighs, "Why don't you start from the top? Tell me everything that happened! And I mean **_**everything**_**!"**

**Sith gives Evan a dark look. Evan's eyes widened at first. He then closes his eyes and sighs. He then opens them and says, "I was in my room and....well.....I got worried about Raven. So I got up to go check on her. As soon as I opened my door....she was there."**

**Sith listens and nods, "As a full vampire."**

**Evan nods, "Yeah. We talked for a little bit.......I was a little freaked out by the way she was acting. It was strange."**

**Sith nods, "Then, what happened?"**

**Evan then looks to the floor, not being able to look Sith in the eyes. He begins to mutter, "Uhh.....umm......"**

**Evan's face turned a pinch red. Sith then says, "Evan? What **_**happened**_** next?"**

**Evan mutters, "Uhh....."**

**Sith sighs and says in assumption, "Something happened between you two......right?"**

**Evan then scratches the back of his head, "Y-yeah. You could say that."**

**Sith then says, "What happened between you two?"**

**Evan closes his eyes and sighs, feeling a pinch guilty, "S-she.....she started to kiss me.....and....and.....well....we--"**

**Evan then trailed off. Sith's eyes widened. He then stood up and yelled, "You gave in to her?? Even though you knew she's with someone else and the fact she just turned?!!!"**

**Evan sighs, "T-there was nothing I could do! She basically **_**threw**_** herself on me!!"**

**Sith yells, "That doesn't matter!! That's just as bad as taking advantage of someone when they're drunk!! No wonder she ran away!!! You just fueled the first stages of her transformation!!"**

**Evan's eyes widened, "I did? B-but.....I.....I couldn't help it!! She drew me in like a magnet does to steel!"**

**Sith sits back down and sighs, thinking over the current situation. Sith sighs once more, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry at you. You couldn't help it anymore than she could.....considering what you both are of course."**

**Evan sighs in relief as he thinks, **_**"I'll go with any answer....as long it doesn't result in Sith kicking my ass. I'm still surprised he hasn't yet........he IS Raven's brother."**_

**Sith then says, "You're not very clear with the minor stages of vampirism are you? You've always killed them and asked questions later."**

**Evan leans forward, "I'm listening."**

**Sith then says, "Okay, let me explain. When you turn.....you become sick like a dog for those few days. On the last day, you feel the worst. That's the day your body dies and becomes vampiric. You feel moodswings along the way as well. Again......part of the process. On the first few weeks after the transformation is done, you feel more sensitive and needy towards certian things."**

**Evan nods to every word, listening carefully. He then asks, "Sensitive and needy? Towards what?"**

**Sith replies, "New born vampires get strong cravings they never had before. They like to change their appearence right away to make them feel good about themselves."**

**Evan then thinks right away of when Raven came to his door with long hair, wearing a ripped black dress. Evan stares at Sith as he continues, "They start to want more than ever before. They feel that they lust......need.....crave.......desire. They try to satisfy all those cravings. Sometimes in one setting. Sometimes they become very lustful when they crave blood and need to feed. Most of it results in sexual acts, killings, and self mutilations."**

**Evan's eyes widened when he thinks back the way Raven was acting just moments ago. He thinks to himself, **_**"That explains why she threw herself on me the way she did. Was she about to feed on me?"**_

**Sith then says, "What exactly happened when she ran off?"**

**Evan then says, "She was kissing my neck and then stopped. She started crying and kept on apologizing to me.........that was when she ran off."**

**Sith looks to the floor, thinking again. Sith then says, "That's why she ran."**

**Evan raises an eyebrow, "Why again?"**

**Sith then looks at Evan, "She ran because she was about to feed off of you. Before it was too late......she regained herself and ran.....realizing what she had done. Plus not to mention she technically cheated on Dimus."**

**Evan's eyes widened even more at what he just heard. He couldn't believe that Raven was inches away from using him as her first feed. Evan clenches his fists and growls in anger and frustration. He knew it was more than just a feed. From what he felt, he felt passion from her. He felt warmth, it wasn't just lust. He felt more, much more. He knew it meant **_**something**_**. **

**Sith stands and then places a hand on Evan's shoulder, "I know this must be difficult for you. So....I'm sorry. I hate this just as much as you do. Heh.....I'm her brother."**

**Evan nods, "I know."**

**Sith removes his hand and chuckles, "Dimus is gonna be pissed once he finds out you've been necking with his chick. Heh heh, he's gonna hunt you down for that."**

**Evan looks up at Sith and smirks, "Bring it on. That's all I'm gonna say."**

**Lerking on the streets, Raven was wandering by herself. She staggers, feeling weak. She breathes heavily, not knowing why. She sheds tears, thinking what she'd just done. She was inches away from doing the unthinkable. She keeps walking, being drawn by something, but not quite sure what. She places a hand on her mouth, thinking, **_**"I.....I almost fed off of Evan! What was I thinking?! Not only that......we almost.......we almost--"**_

**Raven's thoughts trailed off. She then thinks, **_**"It wasn't unpleasant......b-but..........it wasn't right either."**_

**Raven closes her eyes as she sheds more tears. She whispers to herself, **_**"I'm so sorry, Dimus."**_

**She walks and trips onto her knees. She coughs, feeling as if she never ate in weeks. She crawls on all fours, not knowing where she was going nor why. She crawls into an alley and sits up against the wall, panting. She senses something, something familiar. She looks around, searching for it. She looks over to see Dimus leaning up against a car at the end of the alleyway. Raven's eyes widened. She whispers out, **_**"Dimus...."**_

**She then began to crawl towards him, still feeling weak. Dimus looks at her, waiting for her to come to him. Raven crawls up to Dimus' feet and collaspes. Raven began to breathe more heavily than before. Dimus stands there and looks down at her. He then says, "You're weak. You need to feed, my dear."**

**Raven whispers faintly, **_**"F-feed? I.....I feel so weak, like I haven't eaten in days......"**_

**Dimus helps her up halfway. His fangs grew a little bit. He then bites down on his wrist as Raven hugs onto him. Dimus puts his wrist up to her mouth, "Drink this. This should hold you until we go find you some prey."**

**Raven smells the blood eminating from Dimus' wrist. Her eyes widened a bit at the smell. She then places her lips upon Dimus' wrist and bites down on it. Dimus gasps and flinches at the sudden piercing of Raven's fangs. Raven began to feed from his wrist, tasting fresh blood. Raven bit down harder as she became more alive from the taste. Dimus gasps louder as Raven held onto him tighter. Raven began to feel aroused as well, feeling all of her senses come to life. Dimus leans back and closes his eyes, enjoying the sensation Raven gave him. **

**Raven felt a huge rush flow through her. She felt hypnotic and fullfilled almost. Raven kept on going, feeling orgasims flare up inside her body. Dimus let out a whimper as he halfway fell to his knees. He began to breathe heavily. He moans out, "St-stop..."**

**Raven couldn't stop. It tasted too good to stop now. Dimus gasps, "N-no more......"**

**Raven couldn't contol herself. She felt as if something else was taking over. Dimus gasps and forcefully shoves Raven away from him, "Stop!!!"**

**Raven falls back, with blood streaming from her mouth. She lets out a loud gasp from pleasure. She felt almost revived. Dimus stands up, trying to get a hold of himself. He looks at Raven, "Y-you could kill me if you drink too much. You have to be more careful."**

**Raven sighs and nods as she licks her lips from left over blood. She then crawls over to Dimus and hugs his waist. She sighs in relief, feeling safe and secure. Dimus looks down and smiles, patting her head, "Feels good doesn't it? There's a lot more pleasure to come once you learn the vampiric ways."**

**Raven looks up at him as Dimus looks down at her and smiles softly. Raven then stands herself up and kisses Dimus on the lips. Dimus kisses back, tasting left over blood in Raven's mouth. Raven pulls back a bit and touches Dimus' face. He smiles at her, "I have much to teach you, my darling."**

**Dimus' eyes widened. He smelled something odd coming from Raven. He then grabs her and smells her hair. He then moves on to her cheek and then neck. His eyes widened and glew bright red. He lets out a vampiric growl and stares at Raven. He growls once more as he realized the scent was Evan's. He says darkly, "W-why do I smell the scent of that.......that **_**vermin**_** all over you?!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened, "I....umm....."**

**Dimus' eyes widened, realizing right then and there what she had done. His heart felt as if someone had stabbed it, while twisting the blade. He takes a deep breath, still taking in the fact of Raven's previous deed. He turns away from her and roars in anger, smashing a car window with his fist, "I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!!"**

**He growls as he felt more and more anger stir. Raven flinches and begins to shake. Dimus sighs, "I-it's not your fault. Forgive me."**

**Raven looks to the ground, with tears running down her face, whispering, **_**"I'm.....I'm sorry. Please forgive m-my b-betrayal....."**_

**Dimus then realizes something and smiles as he turns to her, wiping Raven's tears, "Awww..........darling.......I know now why you did what you did."**

**Raven's eyes widened. Dimus puts his arms around her, "You wanted Evan to be your **_**first kill **_**didn't you? Aww......I'm so proud of you."**

**Dimus hugs her. Raven's eyes widened, "I wanted what now?"**

**Dimus says, "I appreciate your choice of prey. Your first instinct was to kill a werewolf. Astounding!"**

**Dimus looks at Raven and smiles, as Raven looks back confused. Dimus then says, "I'm sorry to say.....but.....a werewolf is too much for one as young as you. You need more practice and experience in order to set your standards that high."**

**Raven's eyes widened more, "Uhh.....what?"**

**Dimus then grabs her hand, "Come. I must teach you how to hunt."**

**With that, he leads Raven away from the streets.**

**Dimus takes Raven to a very dark forest. Raven looks at her surroundings, not recalling she's ever been to this particular place. Dimus huddles behind a bush. Raven goes up to him, "What're we doing here?"**

**Dimus places a finger on his lips, **_**"Shh.....look."**_

**Raven looks to see a small village before her. Her eyes widened at the sight. It was full of......**_**humans. **_**Just ordinary humans. Some were seen carrying baskets to their homes, others were seen talking, and children were seen playing by a fire and laughing as they told stories.**

**Raven's eyes widened more as she turns to Dimus. He smirks at her and whispers, **_**"Your first kill will be here."**_

**Raven whispers, **_**"B-but.....th-these are innocent people!!"**_

**Dimus then says, "No one will notice they're dead. The city doesn't even **_**care**_** about them. So no one would care if we disposed of them. We'd be doing the city a favor."**

**Raven looks back at the people, "B-but......they're doing no wrong."**

**Dimus then says, "They do **_**everything**_** wrong. They're in the way of others that matter. It's survival of the fittest. Allow your cravings take over."**

**Raven thinks to herself, **_**"Last time I did that.....it resulted with me being inches away from feeding off of Evan......plus not to mention almost sleeping with him."**_

**Raven looks at Dimus saddened. Dimus sighs, "Let your instincts guide you. Let your hunger take over."**

**Raven looks to the people again. Her eyes close and open once again. She could smell them. She could smell their blood from within their skins. She could hear their heart rates, slow and steady or fast and rapid. She could feel the speed of their blood flow. Her hunger was nearly taking over. She lets out a small growl. Dimus then goes right behind her and whispers in her ear, **_**"Kill them. Kill them all! Satisfy your thirst!"**_

**Raven's eyes glew red. She found it hard to resist when she smelled so much blood in one place. Dimus whispers, **_**"Think of all the paybacks you've never gotten. Take it all out on them! Ones you don't know nor care for. Think of how satisfying it'd be. Think of how magnificent the taste will be."**_

**Raven felt a ton of rage fill up within her. She began to growl vampirically, listening to Dimus' every word. She began to breathe slowly, feeling every fiber burn up with rage, feeling her veins boil up. She felt her hunger get stronger. She felt and listened to every heartbeat she could hear. **_**Ba-bump! Ba-bump!**_

**She want them. She wanted them all! **_**Ba-bump! Ba-bump!**_

**Dimus then whispers, **_**"Kill them!"**_

**With no thought or hesitation, Raven crept out of the bushes and hid behind a house. She crawls through the window and looks around. She looks out in the center of the village, seeing more people walking around freely. Raven's hunger then took over completely. She growls and dives out the door onto the first person she set her eyes on. She roars vampirically as people screamed and ran about. Raven then bit down on the person she got a hold of. The taste was more than satisfying. Her first taste of human blood. She felt a great deal of warmth flow in her mouth, everything so invigorating with in toxication.**

**As people went to escape, Dimus stood there smirking. As the people went to run the other way, Dimus grabbed one and started to feed on them as he swung his arm at another person and killed them in one slash of his claw.**

**Raven raises up with blood all over her. She sees others running. Her eyes glow brightly as she growls loudly. She sees a woman running away. She could feel her heart rate. It was rapid and fast. For a reason Raven didn't know about, it made her want the woman all the more. The thrill of the hunt made Raven all the more provoked for the attack. Raven then dives at her and grabs her. She began to bite down on her neck wildly and began to feed. The woman screams in agony as Raven tasted the warm, fluid flowing into her throat and through her chest. Raven throws the woman aside as blood flowed all over herself. She had blood all over her lower face and cleavage. She looks around with evil eyes, filled with hunger for blood.**

**Dimus jumps and kills more and more people. He smirks when he looks to see Raven was on a killing spree of her own. He began to laugh, loving every moment. **

**Raven looks to see a frightened little boy, hugging his sister. Both children were crying. Raven looks at them. As she was about to attack them, she stops herself. Her red eyes widened as she looked down at her bloodied up hands. She began to shake as she then got a hold of herself. She falls to her knees, "Oh.....God! W-what have I d-done?!!"**

**She began to shed more tears. She then looks at the frightened children. She then says to them, "Run! Run now!!"**

**The children nod and do so. They ran off in another direction. Raven leans forward on her hands, crying. What has she just done? She just murdered innocent people. This wasn't her at all. She only slaughtered those who were bad, not people who did no wrong. Raven began to shake even more, "N-no......no!!"**

**Dimus stands right behind Raven, looking down at her. His eyes were cold and lifeless. Raven then sensed Dimus behind him. Raven whispers, **_**"H-how could you make me do this?!"**_

**Dimus smirks, "I didn't. It was on your own free will. I just provoked it."**

**Raven closes her eyes tight as more tears filled her eyes. Dimus then grabs her arm and stands her up. He then shoves her up against the nearest wall of a house. Dimus looks at her sternly, "Look around!"**

**Raven does so. There was nothing but blood and corpses. Raven looks back at Dimus as he says, "WE did this! We have this kind of power! We can give life at the same time as**_** take **_**it away! We can crush creatures no problem without a single scratch being placed upon our skin!! Don't ever feel guilty about another's life! It's either you or them! They're our feed for nights on end! Think of it as them helping us live!!"**

**Raven's eyes widened at each word Dimus was saying. Raven shakes her head, "I.....I can't go around doing this!! Not if it means being a murderer!!!"**

**Dimus growls as he grabs Raven's shoulders, "Raven!! It's not murder if you're a natural predetor!!! They're our prey!! You're a killer not for murder.....but merely for hunting down your feed!!"**

**Raven began to shake again. Dimus sighs, "Raven......I love you!! I will **_**always**_** love you!! You should never have to have another's life upon your shoulders!!!"**

**With that, Dimus kisses Raven's blood covered lips. Her eyes widened, not knowing what to do. Dimus leans back, licking his lips of any blood. He sighs and smiles at her, "You did good on your first hunt, my love. Come.....let's get you cleaned up."**

**Raven looks down at herself and sees blood all over her chest. Raven then nods when she looks up at Dimus. He smiles at her and lifts her off her feet, "You've had enough excitement for one night."**

**With that, he flies off, holding Raven in his arms.**

**Hours later, Dimus brings back Raven to the front of **_**The League of Retribution's**_** house. Raven was wearing a new dress, that was Den Maco's. It was black and tight on the chest. The bottom was loose and knee high with short sleeves that were tight as well. She was all cleaned up and rid of any sight of blood. Dimus kisses Raven on the lips, "Good night."**

**Raven whispers, **_**"Night."**_

**Dimus then says, "Come to the club tomorrow night."**

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "Why? What's going on there?"**

**Dimus smirks, "Another **_**lesson**_**."**

**With that, Dimus turns and leaves. Raven watches him go into the shadows. She then turns and sighs. She finally opens the door and walks inside.**

**She goes to the livingroom, having Serenity jump on her with a hug. She then says, "Oh my God!!! Where were you?! We were worried about you!!!"**

**Raven lightly pushes her off, "I'm fine...."**

**Serenity's eyes widened at Raven's hair. She then says, "Wow. I like the hair."**

**Raven smiles, "Thanks. Kinda a new look for me."**

**Sith then goes up to her. He then grabs her chin and takes a good look at her. Raven slaps his hand away, "Hey! What're you doing?"**

**Sith then says, "Making sure you're fully transformed, so I know what to expect."**

**Hikari then skips in the room, "YAY! Raven's back!!"**

**Raven chuckles at Hikari's randomness. Pheonix then comes from behind her and lifts her off her feet in a hug. He shouts, "Raven!!! You came back!!!"**

**Raven shrieks, "Gah!!"**

**He finally puts her down as Raven turns to face him. Pheonix then says, "Where were you?"**

**Raven then says, "You don't wanna know."**

**Hikari smiles, "Now we do!"**

**Raven shakes her head, "Not this time."**

**With that she walks away. Pheonix, Sith, Hikari, and Serenity all look at one another. **

**As Raven goes to walk in her room, she sees Evan in the hallway. Raven freezes in her tracks, thinking of their last encounter. Evan freezes as soon as he sees Raven. **

**Evan then forces himself to walk up to Raven. He then says nervously, "G-glad to see you're back."**

**Raven looks up at him. She then grabs him and hugs him, "I'm so sorry.....for **_**everything**_**! I didn't know what the hell I was doing."**

**Evan's eyes widened at the sudden action. He then hugs her back, "It's okay. Sith explained it all to me. The changes, the moodswings, all of it. I know why you did what you did, and it wasn't your fault."**

**Raven looks up at him, "I still feel bad."**

**Evan smiles at her, "Don't."**

**Evan then catches a scent of something from Raven. He then leans in on her and smells her hair. He then leans in further and smells the side of her face. His eyes widened, "R-Raven? W-why do I smell a shit load of blood on you?"**

**Raven looks to the floor, ashamed of what she had done only hours ago. Evan looks at her, "Raven?"**

**Raven then says, "Let's just say......Dimus was teaching me how to hunt."**

**Evan's eyes widened, "That doesn't smell like an ordinary hunt's worth. It smells like a whole massacre!"**

**Raven sighs, "I know. Dimus he......he..."**

**Evan then says, feeling a little anger, "He what?"**

**Raven then says, "He took me to a village.....and then my hunger took over and I ended up slaughtering half of them."**

**Raven looks to the floor, feeling a great deal of guilt. Evan's eyes widened, "He did that?! Did.....did he **_**make**_** you slaughter the people?"**

**Raven shakes her head. Evan sighs, only thinking of one other option that would cause Raven to attack anyone, "Did he **_**provoke**_** you to?"**

**Raven didn't answer. Evan growls in anger, "Figures."**

**Raven sighs, "Listen.....I've had enough events for one night. I just need to think right now."**

**Evan nods, "Alright."**

**Raven then looks at Evan, sensing he was a little saddened. She then leans up and gives him a gentle kiss on his cheek. Evan then looks at Raven, while she looks back. She whispers to him, **_**"You're a good friend."**_

**Evan wanted to kiss her lips right then and there, but he knew he couldn't. So he didn't. He then nods, "Thank you. So are you."**

**Raven smiles, "Night, Evan."**

**Evan then says back, "Night."**

**Raven then leaves and goes in her room. Evan stands there and sighs. He looks down at the floor, feeling emotions overwhelm him. He then turns and heads towards his room.**


	26. Chapter 25

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Twenty Five: The Circle of Shadows**_

**Dimus was sitting on the couch, with his head leaned back. Den Maco comes storming in the room, angry. She goes in front of Dimus, "Dimus!!"**

**Dimus finally looks at her, expressionless. He sighs, feeling annoyed, "What?"**

**Den Maco's eyes widened, "Don't **_**what**_** me!!! You realized what you have done??!!"**

**Dimus sighs again, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I'm not following you."**

**Den Maco growls, "That mortal!!!! You made her one of us!!!"**

**Dimus leans forward a bit, "So?"**

**Den Maco yells, "So?!! You know the rules!!! And yet you broke them!! You broke the secret code!!!"**

**Dimus growls, "So what? You think I care about the code anymore? No. I don't."**

**Den Maco gasps, "You should!! It's been our family honor for centuries!! You know you're not suppose to turn anyone without The Counsel's consent!! If you go against their wishes......it could result in torture and death!!!"**

**Dimus then stands up and goes right up to Den Maco. Now face to face, Dimus growls, "You have the nerve to threaten **_**me**_** with The Counsel's pathetic punishments?! I'm the one who was choosen to be the **_**successor**_** of our family!! So don't go around and threaten me!! The Counsel has nothing against me.......even if they tried.....I'd kill them all!! And you know what I'm capable of, **_**elder sister**_**!!"**

**Den Maco's eyes widened. She began to shake a little, feeling a bit of fear. Den Maco then grunt, "B-but why that girl?! Why her??!!!"**

**Dimus glares at her, "Because.......I love her. You know that. I'd give anything for her to be by my side, no matter the cost!! Besides.....you always said it was time for me to find a bride to rule with me. So.......I found her. My choice is Raven."**

**Den Maco sighs, "What's she got that no other doesn't?"  
**

**Dimus smirks and chuckles, "She's everything I ever dreamed of. Everything I always wanted. She has a heart. That's what she's got that no other doesn't. And anyways........it was alright for you to turn Xanthos without permission, and yet it's not alright for me to turn Raven? Little contradicting there, don't you think?"**

**Den Maco's eyes widened as she let out a loud gasp, "That was different!!!!"**

**Dimus smirks, "How so? You loved him and wanted to be with him. That doesn't sound too different to me. You also went against The Councel's permission while doing so. I love Raven and want to be with her. So I turned her just as you turned Xanthos. Look at you now.....you're still with him and you still love him. So.....I would like to have the same as you have now. A companion to spend eternity with. I've found mine and now I'm complete."**

**Den Maco remains silent for a few moments. She then looks at Dimus, "You love her that much?"**

**Dimus nods, "Yes I do. I'm always fulfilled when I'm with her."**

**Den Maco smiles, thinking of the times she had with her love, Xanthos. She then looks at Dimus, smiling softly. She then puts her hands on Dimus' shoulders, "You have my blessing, little brother. If you love her that much, then this girl must be really something."**

**Dimus smiles, "Thank you, Den Maco. All you need is just time to get to know Raven. I know you'd like her."**

**Den Maco chuckles, "She sounds bold. She made Sarah furious and lived. No one has ever done that. So......I guess she does intrique me a little."**

**Dimus smiles more. He then leans in and kisses Den Maco on the cheek. Den Maco closes her eyes and gives Dimus a kiss on his cheek. Dimus leans back and places a hand on the side of her face. He then says, "Our empire is complete. We'll be able to rise above the rest of this world!!"**

**Raven is asleep in her room, the day dying out as she slept. She tosses and turns, having horrible dreams. She gets flashes of blood, people being slaughtered, and people screaming in agony and suffering.**

**Raven tosses and turns once more, breathing heavily. She gets more flashes of horrible things. She sees herself killing more people and being covered in blood. She sees herself laugh insanely while she's doing these evil deeds. Raven turns back and forth, breathing and growling vampirically.**

**Her eyes burst open and she rises into a situp and screams. She looks around, seeing nothing has changed. She breathes heavily once again, feeling fear. She then hears a knock on the door. Raven leans her legs over the side of her bed, "Come in."**

**Evan opens the door, "Raven? Are you alright?"**

**Raven sighs, "I'm fine. Why?"**

**Evan steps in the room, "I heard you scream."**

**Raven's eyes widened a bit, "Oh."**

**Evan then asks, "What happened?"**

**Raven wipes her eyes with her hand, "Nothing.....just a nightmare. Nothing more."**

**Evan nods, "Okay. What was it about?"**

**Raven then looks at Evan. She then looks to the floor, "I don't wanna talk about it. I.....I just want to be left alone."**

**Evan makes a saddened expression, "Oh....okay then."**

**With that, he leaves the room. Raven looks to the floor and sighs. She then thinks of Dimus' lastest event at the club. She thinks hard as to what he had in store for her. **_**Another lesson**_**. That's what he said. But what kind of a lesson and what is it?**

**Raven then looks towards her dresser drawers. She then stands up and goes over to look inside them. Raven sighs, "For some strange reason......I'm sick of my clothes."**

**With then goes to her closet and takes some money out from the bag she won from the club. She then leaves the house and goes out shopping for new clothes to her liking. She finally found outfits she was satisfied with.**

**Hours later, it was inches away from the big event at **_**The Barbarian's Inn. **_**Raven then changes into one of her new outfits. She looks at herself in the mirror. She wore a ripped white skirt. It was short on the left side, while it was long and ripped on the right side. Underneath she wore tight black shorts as well. She also wore a tight white, tank top with ripped sleeves that showed her shoulders. On the tips of every rip was a light purple colour. Raven turns and looks at herself, seeing her stomach was, for once, slim. Raven smiles, "Finally! I can wear belly tops without having a bit of fat show!!"**

**Since Raven's transformation, she also gained a pinch of muscle on her stomach as well. Raven once again put her hair up into a ponytail. She then spikes out her bangs to make her look more sharp. She then places black slip-on shoes. She then puts her sword to her side, looking herself over once again. She then looks upon her dresser, seeing her raven feather. She picks it up and looks at it. Her eyes narrow, "I.....I don't need this anymore...."**

**She then drops it. It glided itself onto Raven's floor. She then turns her back and leaves out the door, heading towards the club for, as Dimus calls it, her next lesson. **

**As Raven went to the front door, Serenity comes in, "Hey, Raven. Where're you off to?"**

**Raven replies, "Out."**

**Serenity's eyes widened again, "You're not gonna go back to that place and fight are you?"**

**Raven shrugs, "How should I know? Dimus just wanted me to meet him there."**

**Serenity then says, "I'm coming too. I'm not having you take a chance in case you do fight again!"**

**Raven shrugs again, "I don't care. Do as you wish. You can't possibly cause further wrong, since you cost me enough last time."**

**Serenity gasps at what Raven just said. Before she could reply, Evan comes in, "What's going on?"**

**Serenity then says, "She's going back to that club."**

**Evan sighs in frustration, "You're gonna go fight again?"**

**Raven then says, "Like I told Serenity, I don't know. Dimus wants me to be there."**

**As soon as Evan heard that Dimus was gonna be there, he then says, "I'm going too then!"**

**Raven shakes her head, "Geez......why doesn't the whole fucking house come with me!!"**

**Hikari skips from the livingroom, smiling, "Don't mind if we do!!"**

**Behind her was Coslotus, Hova, Pheonix, Zero, Sith, and Sythe. Raven's eyes widened and she sighs from frustration, "Let's just go."**

**Pheonix then pulls up in his jeep towards the club. He looks and says, "**_**This**_** is where you hang out? What a dump."**

**Raven grunts, "Just shut up."**

**She then gets out of the car and slams the door, almost breaking it. Pheonix jumps out, "Hey! Be careful!! You could've broke that!"**

**Raven growls, "Like I care."**

**Raven and the group then go up to the door. She knocks. The same devil guy answers. He then bows, "Come in, Lady."**

**Raven nods a thank you. She then walks in as did the rest of the gang. She then turns to them, "Wait here."**

**Serenity looks at Raven, "Are you mad?"**

**Raven then says sarcastically, "No! I'm walking on fucking sunshine and having the time of my life!!"**

**With that, she walks away before anyone could say anything. Raven then heads to the backroom, once there, Dimus is sitting on one of the benches. Raven places her sword down as she says, "Hey."**

**Dimus gets up, "Hey, love."**

**Raven sighs, "Hope you don't mind.....I brought friends."**

**Dimus smirks, "You brought **_**them**_**? Or is it more like they brought **_**you**_**?"**

**Raven nods, "Yup. That's about the size of it."**

**Dimus chuckles, "No matter. They should see your **_**true**_** power anyways. Get a taste of exactly what you can do."**

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "My true power?"**

**Dimus nods, "Tonight's lesson is learning how to**_** use **_**your powers."**

**Raven then says, "You mean I'm gonna fight tonight?"**

**Dimus nods again, "Correct."**

**Raven smirks, "Good. I need to take some anger out."**

**Her eyes glow red as she smirks even more. Dimus walks up to her and strokes the side of her face with his hand, "Once you win........I've got something to show you after........**_**and**_** something to ask you."**

**Raven looks right at him after he said that.**

**Serenity then looks to the others, "Did us coming upset her?"**

**Hikari nods, "Yeah. You should know her by now. She doesn't like to share her affairs too much with others."**

**Hova shrugs, "What's the big deal?"**

**Sith sighs, "Raven thinks it's none of our business on what she does."**

**Coslotus then says, "And it's not."**

**Serenity gasps, "Coslotus!!"**

**Coslotus shrugs, "What? It's true."**

**Zero then says, "If it makes Raven upset, maybe we should leave."**

**Before anyone could say anything, the announcer was heard, **_**"Alright!! People back for more?"**_

**The crowd cheers loud. The announcer smiles, **_**"That's what I like to hear! Tonight.......we have a special treat for your viewing pleasure!! Tonight we have...........Vampire versus Mountian Ogre!!!"**_

**The crowd began to break into a riot of cheers. The announcer then says, **_**"Back with us.....we have our fair lady......Raging Raven!!!"**_

**Raven the steps into the ring as the crowd got louder. The announcer then says, **_**"And her opponent!! Thrashing Thrash!!"**_

**A big grey ogre steps into the ring. He stood almost 7,0 ft in height. He had a messy, white mohawk with a lot of piercings on his left eyebrow and more piercings on his lower jaw. His teeth stood out, big and sharp. He had spikes growing from his arms and shoulders. He also wore ripped black shorts. He also had both of his nipples pierced on his chest. He lets out a growl and smirks at the sight of Raven.**

**Raven turns and sees Dimus come up to her in the ring.**

**Evan sees Dimus and growls, wanting to go up there and fight him.**

**Dimus whispers, **_**"The lesson is simple. Don't hold back."**_

**Dimus then kisses Raven's lips. He then parts the kiss and smirks, "Kill him! Give him no mercy."**

**With that, he gives Raven an evil smirk. Raven smirks as well and nods, "Don't worry. I won't."**

**Evan's eyes widened when he saw the way Dimus was smirking. He then begins to shake with anger, as he knew he told something to Raven that wasn't right. Zero looks to Evan, "What's the matter with you?"**

**Evan growls, "This fight should be stopped! Dimus is out of his fucking mind!!"**

**A song began to play in the club. It was called **_**What I Always Wanted by Kittie. **_**Raven waves her hair over her shoulder and glares at Thrash. They walk slowly, staring one another down. They were both ready to fight.**

**Zero then looks to the fight, "It's just like last time. Are you sure you're not saying that because you're jealous?"**

**Evan shakes his head, "N-no!! I mean it!! I'm not joking!! Dimus is a fucking psycho!!"**

**Zero laughs, "Dude. It's okay to admit you're jealous."**

**Evan's face turns a pinch red, "I am....b-but.....that's not why I'm saying it!!!"**

**The announcer then says, **_**"Okay! Let the match begin!!"**_

**The ogre smirks as he jumps forward at Raven, with his giant claws. Raven's eyes narrow as her eyes glew red. Her fangs reveal themselves as she allowed her anger to take over. Raven ducks and swings her arm on Thrash's chest. He goes flying upwards from the force and flips onto his stomach hard. He began to gasp for air. Raven's eyes widened. She looks at her arm, not believing the brute strength. She thinks to herself, **_**"D-did I just do that??"**_

**Thrash gets up as he coughs out blood. He growls from anger and turns to Raven. She smirks as she does a back flip, throwing a double kick to his face. Raven lands on her feet. Not only did she have strength.....but also speed as well. Raven says to herself, "So.....**_**this**_** is my power!"**

**Raven smirks even more, feeling her anger surge within her. Thrash went flying backwards onto the nearest table outside the ring. As the announcer went to call the match, Raven puts her arm out, "I'm not done yet."**

**The announcer nods and stands there. Raven then flips out of the ring and onto the floor. The crowd goes wild. She then grabs Thrash and throws him upwards. He crashes into a light bulb onto the ceiling, causing a major power surge. Half the lights in the building began to flicker on and off, while electricity began to manifest. As the ogre fell, Raven kicked him across the room. He lands onto the bar. Raven smirks and walks to him.**

**Dimus crosses his arms and smirks, "That's right.....play with your opponent."**

**Raven's fangs grew even more as she goes on top of the bar. Thrash's eyes widened. He began to try to back away from her. Raven walks over him. She then kneels on top of him, now face to face, she smirks, "Having fun yet?"**

**She then grabs Thrash by his hair. She then lifts him up with one arm. With one throw, he lands hard onto the ring. A big bashing sound was heard.**

**Serenity gasps, "Raven, stop!!"**

**As Thrash got up, before anyone knew it, Raven was behind him. **

**Sith's eyes widened, "Holy shit! Such speed!!"**

**Thrash turns around and looks at Raven. She smirks, showing her fangs. Her eyes glew brighter than before. Raven's nails grew even more as well. She then swings her arm back and forth a couple of times. Thrash stands there frozen.**

**Dimus smirks, "Yes....."**

**Raven walks away, smirking. She then licks her finger nails, as of now, they were covered in blood. Before Raven set foot out of the ring, Thrash falls to his knees as blood sprayed out from his throat. He then fell forward, dead.**

**Raven smirks even more as the announcer calls out, **_**"Our winner!!! Raging Raven!!"**_

**The crowd yells even louder with cheers. Dimus walks up to Raven. He places a hand on her face, smirking, "Astounding! Absolutely astounding!"**

**Raven smirks, "I would've killed him quicker, but I wanted some fun."**

**Dimus smirks even more, "This lesson is adjourned."**

**Raven smirks more as her fangs reside to normal and her eyes go from red to black. Dimus looks to see Raven's friends start to walk to them. He grabs Raven's arm, "Let's go."**

**He then pulls Raven into the back room. He then grabs Raven's sword and heads out the back door. They were both outside. Raven looks back, "W-what about the others?"**

**Dimus then says, "They'll be fine without you for now."**

**Back at the castle, Den Maco stands in the middle of a dark room. She then says, "I've brought you all here in accordance to the previous events."**

**Others step out from the shadows as well. One steps right beside Den Maco. He had slicked back, short black hair. He had dark, sapphire blue eyes with a very handsome face. He stood around 6,0 ft in height. He had bold shoulders as well. He wore a black tuxedo with a long black cape with red on the inner part. He also wore sleak looking boots. He smirks, "My dearest. What has Dimus done now?"**

**Den Maco touches his face, "Nothing that we can't handle, my loving Xanthos."**

**Xanthos chuckles, "I **_**love**_** it when you call me that."**

**Sarah steps out from the darkness, "It's not about that **_**mortal**_** is it?!"**

**Den Maco then says, "I'm afraid it is."**

**Sarah growls, "Can I kill her?!"**

**Den Maco shakes her head, "No you can't."**

**A woman comes from the shadows. She had long silver hair, with yellow eyes. She wore a long and tight black dress, with long sleeves. She says darkly, "What about the mortal, Den Maco?"**

**Den Maco then says, "Dimus......has finally choosen his bride to lead us!"**

**There was a giant gasping sound in the room. Sarah roars, "That can't be possible!!! **_**I**_** wanted to be his bride!!!!! He chose a mortal over **_**me**_**??!!!!"**

**Den Maco then says, "His mind's made up. From what he tells me......she's powerful beyond belief."**

**Whispering was heard among the other people in the room. Sarah growls, "I bet **_**I'm**_** more powerful!!"**

**Den Maco smirks, "We'll see. I'm gonna get to know her myself!"**

**Xanthos then says, "Has he turned her yet?"**

**Den Maco nods, "Yes."**

**More gasping was heard. Sarah shouts, "B-but that's against the Code!!"**

**The girl with the silver hair shouts, "Dimus should be killed!"**

**Den Maco growls, "Mind your tongue, **_**Mona**_**!"**

**Mona growls and keeps quiet. Den Maco smirks, "This is just what we need!! Raven can help our clan rise to the top!!! I can mold her into being like us!!! So can Dimus!!! Now.....members of the **_**Circle of Shadows**_**......are you with me?!!"**

**Everyone in the room then look at one another.**

**Dimus then takes Raven to a forest area with the river flowing passed it. Raven then says, "Wh-what did you want to tell me?"**

**Dimus turns and smiles. He then gets out a small black case. He opens it. Inside was a small silver ring, with a blue sapphire in it. He then kneels down in front of Raven. He holds her hand as he holds up the ring. Raven gasps, knowing what he was gonna ask.**

**Dimus then says, "Raven? Will you **_**marry **_**me? Will you become my Queen?"**

**Raven couldn't believe what was being asked. Everything was happening so fast. Dimus says in a whisper, **_**"Marry me."**_


	27. Chapter 26

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Twenty Six: Xaven's Rage**_

**Raven gasps at what Dimus had asked her. Raven began to shake a little, "D-Dimus! I.....I honestly don't know. I mean.....everything's happening too fast."**

**Dimus smiles up at her, "Honey.....I want to spend eternity with you. I want you to rule by my side. Together.....we can make a difference in this world."**

**Raven then thinks of her previous objective. She wanted to claim this world back, to restore it. She thinks hard. Dimus stares at her, "Raven? Will you marry me? Or not?"**

**Raven then thinks of Evan. Her eyes widened as she let a big gasp. She felt put on the spot. She wasn't ready for marriage, and yet here he was, asking her to have such a big commitment. Raven sighs, "Dimus.....listen.....I.....I don't know. I love you.....but.......I....I just don't know. I have a bad feeling. I don't think I'm ready for that sort of life."**

**Dimus' eyes went saddened. He felt a great deal of anxiety. He then says to her, "Raven. We don't even have to get married right away. It's just a ring that says that one day we will. I love you with all of the remains of my heart. Please? I need you. I want to spend the rest of my vampiric life with you. No one else!"**

**Raven's eyes widened at his words. She still had a really bad feeling about the situation. She then takes a deep breath and nods, "If it's just a ring...........okay."**

**Dimus' eyes lit up, "Truely?!"**

**Raven smiles and nods. Dimus then places the ring on Raven's wedding finger. He stands up and smiles, "You won't regret this, my love. That I'll make sure of."**

**Raven smiles a little, "I hope so. I hope so...."**

**Deep down, Raven felt a great feeling of guilt. She felt like something was wrong......**_**dead**_** wrong! **

**Raven then walks home, holding her sword. She feels a great feeling of despair take her under. She felt as if her heart was aching. Why? She should be happy.....shouldn't she? She then opens the door. Serenity comes to her, "Why did you ditch us at the club?!"**

**Raven then says, "I didn't do it on purpose! Dimus was the one who dragged me out of there!"**

**Serenity nods, "I see. Remind me to kick him next time I see him."**

**Raven chuckles, "I will."**

**As Raven went to walk to her room, Evan comes walking towards her. He stops in front of her, "What was up with Dimus taking you away from us like that?"**

**Raven sighs, "Uhh......he wanted to ask me something in private....."**

**Evan raises an eyebrow, "Like what?"**

**Raven then says, "Uhh....umm......"**

**Evan stepped a little closer to Raven. As he did so, he began to have pains in his chest. His eyes widened, "Gah!"**

**He then falls to his knees. Raven's eyes widened, "Evan!!"**

**As she went to help him up, the pain got worse. He screams out in pain. Evan began to breathe heavily, "D-do you......do you have silver......near you?"**

**Raven's eyes widened. She then looks down at the ring Dimus had got her. She then realized that her ring was made from **_**genuine**_** silver. She then backs away from him. Evan started to feel a little better as Raven stepped away from him. Raven began to shake, "I'm......I'm sorry........"**

**Evan looks up and sees the ring on Raven's hand. He then stands himself up. Raven shudders, "I'm sorry, Evan. Dimus....he.......he proposed to me. And.....he gave me **_**this**_**."**

**She then holds up her left hand. She began to shed tears, "I'm sorry Evan.......I never wanted to hurt anyone!"**

**With that, she runs passed Evan and goes into her room. She then slams the door.**

**Evan's pain finally goes away once Raven was gone. He couldn't believe what was just told to him. He then stands in front of Raven's door. He could still smell her scent. He then places his hands on opposite sides of her door. He growls, feeling hurt and overwhelmed with hate. He began to shake with anger. He of all people knew what it was like to be hurt like this. He felt something almost take him over, but he supressed it. **

**He then thinks of what vampires always do. They always **_**persuade**_** people into things. He then began to breathe heavily, feeling more and more anger. He then says to Raven, from the closed door, "Raven.......it's not your fault. You do what you think is right."**

**Raven was sitting right behind the door, crying. She then said from behind the door, "You don't mean that! And it **_**is**_** my fault! I don't know what I'm doing! I'm confused!!"**

**Evan still stands behind the door. His eyes flicker a different colour, but only for a moment. He then began to shed tears as well. He then slams his hand on the side of the door. Deep down, he knew that he didn't mean half of the things he just said seconds ago. He then says, "Raven? I know it's a little late for this.....but I--"**

**He was cut off by Pheonix coming in the hallway, "Uhh.....guys? The Mayor just called. We have another mission."**

**Evan wipes his tears before looking at Pheonix. He then says, "O-okay. We'll be out in a minute."**

**Pheonix then raises an eyebrow, "Did something happen?"**

**Evan shakes his head, "Don't worry about it."**

**Pheonix then says, "Uh....alright then. Me and the gang will be in the car."**

**With that, Pheonix walks away. Evan then knocks on Raven's door, "Raven. We have a mission."**

**Raven sits behind the door, unsure whether or not she should come out. She then looks at her new ring on her finger. She then closes her eyes and takes it off. She then stands up and places it on the dresser. She then opens the door and looks at Evan. He looks back at her, "You alright now?"**

**Raven shakes her head, "No...."**

**Evan didn't feel any pains. He looks to see Raven wasn't wearing the ring Dimus had given her. Evan's eyes widened, "You took the ring off? Why?"**

**Raven then puts a hand on the side of Evan's face, "Because.....I don't want you to go through pain because of me."**

**Evan's eyes widened. With that, Raven walks away. Evan lets out a deep sigh and looks at her as she walks away. He then follows along.**

**Pheonix then drives his jeep with everyone in it, except for Coslotus of course. Pheonix then parks right in front of a very green forest. Pheonix turns the car off, "**_**Emerald Forest**_**. That's what the Mayor said."**

**Raven then asks, "What did the Mayor say it was that hunted in these areas?"**

**Pheonix shrugs, "He said he didn't know. He just said for us to check it out."**

**Raven sighs, "Let's go."**

**Everyone then gets out of the car. Raven then says, "We should split up."**

**Serenity then says, "But....we don't know what we're looking for. It could be dangerous."**

**Raven smirks, "Alright......you guys go in pairs.....I'll go alone."**

**As Raven went to walk away, Serenity shouts, "Raven!"**

**Before anyone could do anything, Raven was already gone into the shadows of the forest. Pheonix sighs, "Just leave her be. She **_**is**_** a vampire. So she can manage."**

**Pheonix then goes into his trunk. He opens it and hands everyone flashlights, "Since it's night time, you'll need these."**

**Evan then says, "I can do just fine without one."**

**Pheonix shrugs, "Suit yourself."**

**Pheonix then hands some to the others. Hova takes one and then loaded up his guns. Serenity then says, "I won't need one. I'll provide light of my own."**

**Hikari takes a flashlight, "I'll take one!!!"**

**Sith sighs, "Fine, I'll take one."**

**Pheonix then takes one for himself, "So.....who's going with who?"**

**Sith then says, "Zero, you come with me. Serenity goes with Coslotus. Hova can go with Evan."**

**He then turns to Pheonix, "And Hikari can go with you."**

**Pheonix then says, "Uhh....okay. That was easy. Any disagreements?"**

**Hikari shrugs, "I don't care."**

**Serenity then says, "No."**

**Hova finishes loading his guns, "I'm good."**

**Zero then says, "I'm fine with it."**

**Pheonix then says, "Alright, let's go."**

**They all go into their pairings into different parts of the forest. **

**Serenity then lights a ball of fire in her palm. She then looks around. Coslotus then says, "Make sure you don't cause a forest fire."**

**Serenity sighs, "Oh shut up."**

**Serenity then stops and looks around. She then says, "It'd be nice to **_**actually**_** know **_**what**_** we're looking for."**

**Coslotus looks around as well, "Agreed. Always good to know who your enemy is."**

**They then heard fast movements behind them. They both turn as Serenity says, "What was that?"**

**More movement was heard around them. Then echoes of growling was heard. Serenity then backed into Coslotus, "Okay......I'm starting to get freaked out!"**

**Coslotus then gets his claws at the ready as he lets out a low growl.**

**Sith uses the flashlight to light his and Zero's way. Sythe follows behind them, sniffing the ground. Sith then lowers himself to the ground and grabs a pinch of soil. He smells it. Zero goes beside him, "What is it?"**

**Sith then says, "From the smell of the soil.....I'd say we're hunting something that's feline. Or at least feline-like."**

**Zero then says, "Are you sure you're not smelling Sythe?"**

**Sith looks at Zero, "I'm sure."**

**He then stands, "Let's keep moving."**

**As Zero and Sith went to walk further, they hear growling run passed them. Zero's eyes widened, "Shit!"**

**He then gets out his Naginata. Sith then gets out his weapon as well. Sythe then growls at something in front of them. It was a shadow of something that was standing in front of them. Sythe growls even more. He then runs at the thing in front of them. Sith shouts, "Sythe!!"**

**The thing began to run as Sythe began to chase it. Sith shouts, "Sythe!! Come back!!"**

**Sythe disappeared into the shadows. Sith grunts, "Fuck!!"**

**Zero sighs, "He'll be back."**

**Just then, growling and snarling was heard. A giant roar was heard. Another growl was heard, only this time.....it sounded as if the creature was in pain. Sith knew at once that it was Sythe. Sith shouts, "SYTHE!!!!"**

**Sith and Zero then run into the direction where the ruckus was coming from. As soon as they were at the scene, Sythe shot lightning at the thing it was fighting. The thing goes flying backwards and hits a tree. Sythe staggers to his feet. He growls in pain. Sith runs to him, "Sythe!! Are you alright, buddy?"**

**Sith shines the flashlight on Sythe. He had gigantic slash marks on his left side. Sith gasps, "Oh God!"**

**Zero looks, "Holy shit!! What the hell happened?!!"**

**Sith feels a great feeling of panic. He then looks to Zero, "Know any healing spells?"**

**Zero shakes his head, "Sorry. I wish I did."**

**Sith growls, "Fuck!! We're gonna need Raven.....or Hikari. Either way!! Sythe's wounds need to be treated!!"**

**Zero then walks over to the thing Sythe just killed. Zero's eyes widened, "Uhh.....Sith? I think you should shine your light over here."**

**Sith walks over to Zero, "What is it?"**

**He then shines the flashlight on the dead corpse. Sith's eyes widened as soon as he saw what the creature was, "Jesus Christ!!"**

**Evan and Hova walk into the depths of the woodland area. Hova turns on his flashlight and puts one of his guns at the ready. He then says, "So......what's the deal with you and Raven? You seem pretty tight."**

**Evan's eyes widened at the sudden question. Evan sighs and says, "Just.....really, really close friends is all."**

**Hova nods, "Oh, I see. You like her, huh?"**

**Evan's eyes widened more, "I....I didn't say that!!"**

**Hova laughs, "Oh, come on, dude! It's pretty obvious."**

**Evan looks to the ground, "Can we not talk about this?"**

**Hova laughs, "Alright, alright. I was only messing with you anyways."**

**Evan then sees fast movement in the darkness. Evan points, "There!"**

**Hova points the flashlight and his gun in the direction Evan pointed. Nothing was there. Evan looks around, being able to see in the dark. He then says, "Whatever this thing is, it's fast!"**

**Hova then hears something behind him. He then turns quickly and shoots his gun. Nothing was there when he saw he had shot a tree. Hova and Evan then hear growls echoe all around them. Hova looks around, "Shit! It's trying to close in on us!"**

**Evan smells the air. He growls, "Smells cat-like! I can't quite figure out what it is."**

**Hova sighs and says sarcastically, "Well.....that's just great."**

**The growling gets louder. Evan and Hova look around, bracing themselves. Evan smells the air again, "It's closer now."**

**A loud roar was heard from behind them. Hova turns and sees something dive at them. Hova then points his gun in the nick of time and pulls the trigger. He hits the creature dead on in the head.**

**Hikari and Pheonix stop as soon as they hear the sound of a gun shooting off. Hikair smiles, "Yay! Sounds like Evan and Hova found something!"**

**Pheonix nods, "Yeah. Wonder what Hova shot at."**

**Hikari looks around as she shines her flashlight ahead. Pheonix then shines his flashlight in another direction. Growling was then heard. Hikari jumps and laughs, "Ooh! What's that?!"**

**Pheonix then goes on ahead, "Let's go find out."**

**Hikari smiles, "Okay!"**

**Pheonix and Hikari walk even further. The growling got louder. Hikari then says, "Sounds like a giant kitty!"**

**Pheonix's eyes widened, "Yes it does. But what kind is the question. Could it be a **_**Mngwa**_**?"**

**Hikari raises an eyebrow, "What's that?"**

**Pheonix then replies, "Oh. It's a mythical cat creature feared by the Africans. It's also known as **_**the strange one**_**. It is said that it's stronger than a lion and more deadlier than a leopard."**

**Hikari smiles, "That sounds cool! I want one as a pet now!!"**

**Growling and snarling was heard ahead of them. Pheonix then says, "No.....it's not a Mngwa. If it was.....we wouldn't hear any noise. Mngwa likes to sneak up on their prey.....so definately not that."**

**Hikari then places a finger on her mouth, "Shh......we might be able to know it's location if we keep quiet."**

**Hikari and Pheonix then kept themselves quiet. They hear rapid running. Hikari's eyes widened as she then turns off her flashlight. Pheonix did the same. No noise was heard. They then heard footsteps come towards them. Hikari then shouts, "Now!"**

**Pheonix and Hikari then shine their flashlights at the thing in front of them. Both of their eyes widened at the sight. Pheonix then makes fire in his hands and was ready to shoot it at the creature. **

**Hikari gasps, "Oh.....my.....God!!"**

**The thing stood at least 4,0 foot in height, not including the tail. It had glowing red eyes, four of them. It had two faces. One in the usual place and the other on it's chest. The first head was that of a goat, while the bottom head was that of a lion. It's front claws were like an eagle and his hind legs were like a goat's. It also had a muscular build. It had two gigantic horns on it's head, with a small third one on it's forehead. It had little bits of hair like a mane and some on it's hind legs. The short fur, that made it almost look bald, was a yellowish tan colour. It then swings it's tail and growls. It's tail was something else. It was all scaly and blue with bright yellow designs. It's tail opened up it's mouth, as it's grey eyes glew, and hissed. It's tail was a snake. It was ready to pounce on Hikari and Pheonix.**

**Sith goes over to the corpse and looks it over. Zero looks at it too, "What the hell is that?"**

**Sith looks over the dead body again, "It's a **_**Chimera**_**."**

**Zero's eyes widened, "What's that?"**

**Sith kneels down to the corpse to get a better look at it. It was burnt and electracuted to death. He then says, "A Chimera is a creature that's part lion, part goat, and part snake. It's movement and actions are mostly lion-like. Very vicious."**

**Zero's eyes widened even more, "Holy shit."**

**Sythe growls once again. Sith stands up and turns, shining his flashlight in the direction Sythe was growling at. Zero turns as well, gripping his Naginata. Fast movement was seen. Sith sighs, "This......is gonna take a while."**

**Zero looks to Sith, "Why's that?"**

**Sith looks at Zero, "Chimeras are powerful creatures. Especially if they travel in packs. If Chimeras are flooding this area, that means their den is near by. I just hope we don't find it anytime soon."**

**Zero looks ahead, "Why? Isn't finding their den a good thing?"**

**Sith then says, "Not if we're not together. If it's just two of us.....we don't stand a chance against a whole pack! As soon as we set foot in their den......we're fucked!"**

**Zero's eyes widened, "Oh geez. Raven's the only one who went solo! What if she ends up finding it?"**

**Sith replies, "All we can do is hope that she doesn't. Even as a vampire......she still could be killed taking on the pack by herself."**

**More snarling was heard. Sith and Zero look around. Sith growls, "Come on, you son of a bitch!"**

**Sith then holds his weapon at the ready. It then starts to glow red. **

**A Chimera was hiding in one of the trees. It sees the glowing Sythe. It growls and whips it's tail back and forth. It then crawls down the tree, glancing at it's target. It then roars and dives at Sith.**

**Sith growls and swings his Sythe with one arm. One of the beast's head went flying and hit against a tree. The body stands for a few more seconds before falling. Sith swings his Sythe in a circle and smirks.**

**Zero then hears another growl. He turns and swings his Naginata. He slashs another one. He then stabs in the head. It cries out in pain as it fell to it's death. Zero pulls his Naginata out, "Shit! These things are unpleasant."**

**Serenity throws fire at whatever came at her. She burns one alive as it tried to chase her. She screams and starts to run as two more began to chase her. She shouts, "What **_**are**_** these things?!"**

**Coslotus fights more off with his bare hands. He shouts, "Who cares? Just kill them!"**

**Coslotus then stabs two with his razor sharp wings. He then punches another in the face. He growls, "Fucking things! Annoying!"**

**Serenity turns to see a Chimera run at her. She then sticks her hands out and screams. Massive fire then came from her hands. It burnt two Chimeras in its path. Serenity's eyes widened. She began to breathe heavily, "Oh my God."**

**Coslotus then kills the rest of the Chimeras he was fighting. He then cracks his neck, "I say we regroup."**

**Serenity nods, "Yeah."**

**They both walk on ahead, looking for the others.**

**Hova looks at the thing he shot. His eyes widened, "Dude! It's a fucking Chimera!"**

**Evan looks as well, "Shit! It is!"**

**Evan then looks around, "That's why I couldn't make out the scent properly. It's scent has more than one scent."**

**Hova then looks to Evan, "We gotta be careful. If that was here.....then it's den must be nearby."**

**Evan nods, "Yeah."**

**Evan then traces the scent, to find out what direction it came from. Evan then points to his right, "It came from that way."**

**Hova then says, "Alright. Let's go find the others. We're gonna need the **_**whole **_**group for this one."**

**Evan then realizes something, "Shit!"**

**Hova looks, "What?"**

**Evan then says, "Raven's out there by herself!"**

**Hova shrugs, "I'm sure she's fine."**

**Evan then says, "I'm gonna go find her. I'll meet up with you guys later, alright?"**

**Hova sighs, "Okay, dude. Whatever."**

**Evan then runs into the darkness, trying to track Raven's scent. His eyes widened. From what he could smell, Raven's scent was in the direction the Chimera came from.**

**Hova shakes his head and keeps moving. He then hears snarling come from behind him. He turns and shines his flashlight. Nothing. He then looks around, being careful with his own movements. He then gets his gun at the ready.**

**More growling was heard, only closer. Just as Hova turned around, a Chimera dived on him. His gun and flashlight go flying from his hands. His eyes widened, "Fuck!"**

**The Chimera was snarling and drooling. Wanting to bite down on his prey. Hova then uses his arm to block it from doing so. It's tail then whips up and almost hits his face. He turns his head at the last second. It's claws then dig into his side. Hova screams in pain as the Chimera's claws began to pierce his flesh. His then reaches on his belt and grabs another gun. He then points it at it's head and pulls the trigger. Dead in an instant.**

**Hova gets up, barely. He then grabs his gun and flashlight from the ground. He holds his side tight. He shines his flashlight on his side. He saw large claw marks in it. The slashes covered his whole side. He grunts, "Fuck me!"**

**He then takes off his scarf and wraps it around his side **_**tight**_**. He then sighs, knowing the scarf was only temporary. He then starts to walk, hoping to find the others.**

**A Chimera dives at Hikari. Pheonix then shoots fire at it. He burns it and finally kills it. Pheonix stretches his arm out, "That was easy."**

**Just then, a Chimera dives out from the shadows and bites down on Pheonix's arm. He screams and in pain. Hikari's eyes widened, "Pheonix!"**

**Hikari then says, "Stop giving my friend **_**slashes**_** and instead turn to **_**ashes**_**!!"**

**An orange aura shoots from Hikari's hand and hits the Chimera. It then turns to ashes in an instant. Pheonix holds his arm and looks from the ashes to Hikari. He nods, "Thanks."**

**Hikari smiles, "You're welcome!"**

**Pheonix grunts, "Fucking Chimeras! Man their bites hurt!"**

**Hikari shrugs, "What do you expect? It's three animals in one."**

**Pheonix chuckles, "Yeah."**

**Hikari then rips her dress. She then wraps it around Pheonix's arm, "Here. This should hold you till we get home. I'll make up a potion to heal you."**

**Pheonix looks at his wrapped arm, "Uhh.....thanks."**

**Hikari smiles, "Come on! Let's find the others!"**

**Raven walks slowly in the very center of the forest. She looks around, making sure nothing was in sight. She then gets her sword out at the ready. She then hears massive water dead ahead. She walks towards the sound.**

**She looks to see a massive waterfall overlooking a small pond-like pool. Raven then sees something behind the waterfall. She then lowers her sword and hops on one rock and then another. She then hops towards the end of the waterfall. Once she reached it, she sees a cave on the other side. Her eyes deepen with curiousity.**

**She then goes around the waterfall and into the cave. She smells something odd inside. She goes in further and looks around. She then hears growling all around the cavern. She looks around once more. She stops dead in her tracks.**

**Ahead, a whole pack of Chimeras come out and stare down Raven. They all growl at the sight of her. More began to surround Raven.**

**She looks around at them all, analyzing them. She then raises her sword at the ready.**

**Sith and Zero start to walk exhausted. Sith feels his shoulder, as it had huge bite marks in it. Sith grunts in anger, "Can't believe one of those fuckers managed to sink their teeth into me!!"**

**Zero laughs, "Now there's something you can sink your teeth into."**

**Sith punches him in the shoulder. Zero holds his shoulder, "Ow! That hurt."**

**Sith then says, "If it hurts, then shut the fuck up!"**

**Sith hated giving in to weakness. He rarely got hit by an enemy. Sythe then catches a scent. He then limps in the direction left of them. Sith looks to Zero, "Sythe's found someone!"**

**They then follow Sythe. Sith looks to see it was Hova. Sith's eyes widened, "Hova!"**

**Hova walks to them, "Hey. I was coming to find you guys. But I guess one of you found me first."**

**Sith sees his wound, "Dude, what happened?"**

**Hova holds his wound, "Chimera. Don't worry about it."**

**Hova then sees Sith's shoulder, "Holy shit. Looks like they got you good too."**

**Sith holds his shouder, "Yeah. But I made sure its death was torture."**

**Zero then says, "Wait a minute. Wasn't Evan with you?"**

**Hova says, "Yeah. But once he found out what we were dealing with, he ran off to find Raven."**

**Sith nods, "That's good. She shouldn't be alone with a forest full of Chimeras anyways."**

**Raven flips herself in the air as a Chimera went to pounce on her. She then kicks one in the face and slices it with her sword. She finally lands on her feet and began to slice up anything that came at her.**

**Raven's eyes widened. No matter how many she killed, more and more seemed to come at her. She then slices more and more. One jumped on her from behind and bit her on the shoulder. She screams out in pain as blood splattered everywhere. She then grabs the Chimera by its head and throws it against the other Chimeras, causing a big wave to go flying.**

**She then slices more and more as her shoulder began to heal at a slow rate. She looks around, with her eyes narrowed. She growls as her eyes went bright red and her fangs grew. More and more then jump at her.**

**Serenity then starts to light the way with her fire. She looks around. Coslotus looks around too. Serenity hears growling ahead. Serenity backs up, "Oh geez.....another one."**

**Coslotus then gets his claws at the ready, "I got this one."**

**He then walks up to it as Serenity goes behind him. Her eyes widened, "Oh God. It's Sythe!"**

**She saw that he was wounded. Her eyes widened even more, "Oh God. You poor thing! What happened?"**

**Sith then comes behind Sythe, "Hey. I see Sythe found you guys."**

**Zero and Hova then come behind Sith. Serenity then says, "Oh. Hey you guys!"**

**Coslotus glares at Hova and sees that he was wounded. He then nods, "Hova."**

**Hova nods, "Coslotus."**

**More growling was then heard. They all look around, getting ready for anything that comes at them.**

**Evan runs fast in the forest. He thinks to himself, **_**"Please don't do anything reckless, Raven. Please!"**_

**He then got a bad feeling in his gut. He then says to himself, "This isn't good...."**

**Raven then stabs more and more Chimera. There was too many of them to handle by herself. She then gets attacked by dozens of them at the same time. She got clawed on her side and then bitten on her leg and both on her arms. One began to bite onto her throat. She screams in pain once more as blood began to flow from her mouth.**

**She then closes her eyes tight. She then summons all of her remaining energy. She then began to glow purple. Her eyes then glow from red to purple as well. She screams out, "SOUL SURGE!!!"**

**A big gigantic wave of purple aura swept through the whole cave like a plague. All the Chimeras were hit in its path. All of their souls came out from their bodies and were sliced up by the giant attack that Raven managed to produce. Every one of the creatures were dead. Raven walked with wounds all over her. She then drops her sword as she staggers forward. She began to breathe heavily, not having fed this night.**

**She felt really weak. She began to bleed everywhere. As soon as she hits the foot of the exit, she falls forward onto her stomach. She then lays there, lifeless almost. She then closes her eyes, nearly inches away from blacking out.**

**Hikari and Pheonix were running from more Chimeras. As they were running, they bump into the rest of the group. Hikari smiles, "YAY! We found you!"**

**Sith then sees the Chimeras. He smirks, "I got this."**

**He then swings his Sythe at all of them. He kills them all with once slice. He then smirks, "There. Now let's go find Evan and Raven."**

**After a few moments, the rest of the group began to clear out the forests. Once done, they all go back to Pheonix's car. They all wait there. Hova then says, "Geez. I wonder what's taking Evan and Raven so long."**

**Sith then says, "Yeah. I wonder."**

**Evan runs and sees the waterfall. He looks around, "Raven?"**

**He then smells her scent was in the waterfall. He then runs to it and sees a cave. As soon as he goes to the entrance, he sees Raven laying lifeless on the ground. His eyes widened, "Oh no."**

**He then falls to his knees beside her, "R-Raven!"**

**He then lifts her up in his arms. He takes a good look at her wounds, "Oh God! Raven!!!"**

**He then looks around the cave and sees all the dead Chimera. He then turns his attiention back to Raven. He then thought of only one way to heal her. He then bites on his wrist as hard as he could. No blood came out. Evan growls, "Come on!!"**

**He then bites down harder and could taste blood. He lets go of his wrist and sees it finally bleeding. He then places his wrist on Raven's mouth. Nothing was happening. Evan shouts, "Raven!! Please wake up!!"**

**Evan began to shed tears as nothing was happening. Raven's sight was blurry as she began to taste blood on her lips. She then places a hand on Evan's wrist as she began to bite down and drink his blood.**

**Evan's eyes widened as soon as he felt Raven bite down. Evan feels a great strain of relief come over him. He then rests his head on top of Raven's. He then kisses her head as Raven drank more. Her wounds began to heal. Evan then hugs onto her tightly, never wanting to let her go. Raven then closes her eyes as she allowed Evan's blood to flow into her. This was the best taste she ever encountered. It was sweet and refreshing. Raven's wounds heal finally. **

**She then sits up and licks her lips. She then turns to Evan, who was staring at her. Raven then leans in and gives him a small kiss on his lips and hugs him. Evan closes his eyes and sighs in relief as he hugs her back. Raven says faintly, "Evan....."**

**Evan hugs her tighter, "I'm right here."**

**Raven leans back and looks at Evan, not knowing what to say. Evan then places a hand on the side of her face, "Are you alright?"**

**Raven nods, "Thanks to you."**

**Evan smiles, "You scared me for a bit there. Thought I lost you."**

**Raven smiles, "Well.....you didn't."**

**Evan's smile widens, happy to see that Raven was indeed alright. Evan then says, "Come on. Let's get back to the others."**

**Raven nods, "Okay."**

**They both stand. Raven staggers forward a bit. Evan catches her, "Careful."**

**Raven looks at Evan, "Sorry."**

**Evan smiles, "Why are you sorry? You're the one who's hurt."**

**Evan then lifts her up in his arms, "Here we go. I'll just carry you."**

**Evan then picks up Raven's sword as well. Raven then wraps her arms around Evan and looks at him. Evan looks back at her. They both smile at one another. Evan then breaks the silence, "Let's go."**

**With that, he ran with Raven in his arms.**

**Once everyone got back to the house, Hikari demanded people to go with her to the basement for treatment. Hova, Pheonix, Sith, and Sythe go to the basement with Hikari.**

**Evan then carries Raven to her bed. Raven looks at Evan, "There's no need."**

**Evan then says, "After a fight like that, you need rest."**

**Raven then says, "I'm alright."**

**Evan then rests his forehead on hers. Raven's eyes widened a little. Evan smiles, "I know.....but.....I'm just worried about you. I just want to be sure."**

**Raven then nods, "Alright."**

**Raven then pulls Evan towards her and hugs him. She then says, "Thank you......for saving me."**

**Evan hugs her back, "Hey......it's something I do."**

**Raven leans back and smiles at him, "I know."**

**Evan then smiles at her as well. Evan then smells something odd. Raven looks at him, "What is it?"**

**Evan then says, "It's nothing. Just rest, okay?"**

**Raven then nods. Evan then leaves the room and closes the door. He then walks outside and catches the scent of Dimus. He growls, "What the hell is **_**he**_** doing here?!"**

**He then chases after the scent, feeling more and more rage burn up within him.**

**After a while, he comes across Dimus' castle. He then sees the gate was locked. He then looks around for a way in. He then jumps high and lands in an open window. He then thinks, **_**"Let's just see what this asshole is up to!!"**_

**Evan then sneaks into the castle, unseen. He then follows Dimus' scent. The scent leads Evan to a room, from what it looked like, was a throne room. He sees Dimus and Den Maco talking. His eyes widened and he hides behind the nearest wall.**

**Dimus then sits on the throne chair. He sighs, "Den Maco.....I'm not sure how my plans are going to work with that.....that.....that **_**werewolf**_** in the way!!"**

**Den Maco then says, "Have you given her the silver ring yet?"**

**Dimus nods, "Yes I have. But it's still not working!"**

**Den Maco's eyes widened, "Not working? How?!"**

**Dimus growls, "Raven took it off......just so her **_**vermin **_**of a friend doesn't get hurt from it!"**

**Den Maco then says, "How could she take it off? You gave it to her as a symbol of your love to her. It was meant to not only show that.....but to also keep Evan more distant from her!"**

**Evan's eyes widened as he thinks, **_**"So.....Dimus gave her a silver ring purposely?! Just to get at me?!!"**_

**Dimus smirks, "Well.....it was fun while it lasted. Torturing that little runt was so amusing!"**

**Evan growls in anger. He then clenches his fists as he began to shake. **

**Den Maco then says, "What's next on the list?"**

**Dimus smirks, "The **_**next step **_**in me and Raven's relationship! Not only will it bring us closer.....but it'll also bring Evan more pain."**

**Den Maco smirks, "You mean......**_**sleep**_** with her?"**

**Dimus smirks devilishly, not needing to say another word.**

**Evan's eyes widened even more. He thinks, **_**"He's using Raven too??!!!"**_

**Evan growls even more, feeling something inside him begin to take over. He then runs out of hiding, "I'LL KILL YOU!!!"**

**Dimus looks to Evan and smirks, "Well, well......what do we have here?"**

**Vampiric guards came and grabbed Evan, holding him down. Dimus walks to him, "Aww.....a spy. How nice."**

**Evan growls, "You're only using Raven for your own personal needs?!!! That's not right!!!! Why?!!"**

**Dimus laughs, "I'm not. I just want someone to love.......and I've found her."**

**Evan growls even more, "You won't get away with this!!!"**

**Dimus smirks, "Oh? Won't I? We'll see. Who's Raven gonna believe? A jealous animal who's worthless? Or her **_**fiancee'**_**?"**

**Evan began to get more and more angered. His eyes turn red, "You're.......dead!!!"**

**He then punches one of the guards in the face and makes him go flying. He then snaps the other's neck like it was nothing. He began to laugh insanely. Den Maco analyzes every move, "Hmm....."**

**Dimus smirks, "Oh? Looks like Evan does have a little strength after all."**

**Evan turns and laughs evily, "No.....not Evan! Only **_**Xaven**_** is here now!!!!"**


	28. Chapter 27

_**Caged Wings**_

_**Chapter Twenty Seven: Everlasting Lust**_

**Dimus' eyes widened a little. Evan was different than before. Why? Dimus closes his eyes and slowly opens them. He then grins, "Xaven, huh? Should I be impressed?"**

**Xaven turns to Dimus and chuckles, "You tell me."**

**He then appears behind Dimus. He then says, "I'm just here for the fun!"**

**With that, Dimus turns around. Xaven smirks and back hands him across the room. Dimus goes flying and hits a wall, leaving a huge dent in it. Dimus then lands to the ground. He gets up and holds his chest in pain. He looks at Xaven with his eyes widened, "This isn't the same vermin as before!"**

**Den Maco analyzes carefully. She places a hand on her chin and smirks, "Hmm.......interesting.....it seems the werewolf has another presence within him. Interesting indeed."**

**Xaven then cracks his neck, "I haven't done that in **_**so**_** long!!"**

**Dimus then heals quickly. He then growls and smirks, "No matter. It's all the same to me either way. As long as I kill Evan in the process."**

**Xaven began to laugh, "Please. Don't put me in the same league as that low life! He's nothing compared to me!!"**

**Dimus chuckles, "We'll see now won't we?"**

**Xaven smirks, "Yes. Indeed we shall see."**

**Dimus then cracks his neck and knuckles, "I'm gonna enjoy this greatly!"**

**Xaven's smirk widens, "As will I."**

**Dimus then crouches down a little. Xaven just stands there smirking, waiting for Dimus to come at him. Dimus' eyes began to glow red as he dived at Xaven. **

**Xaven smirks, expecting Dimus' attack. As Xaven braced himself, Dimus disappeared and reappeared in a diving motion behind him. Xaven turns and grabs his neck, "Oh come now. I know you can do much, much better than that."**

**He then throws Dimus back. He then goes flying backwards, heading towards the throne chair. Dimus then crouches his feet on it, having no harm done to him. He then looks up and smirks, "Alright.....I'll admit. You're more of a challenge than that **_**pesky**_** werewolf! Now that I've tested out the waters.....I can now fight for **_**real**_**!"**

**Xaven chuckles, "This should be amusing. Very well.......let's see how you really fight."**

**Dimus smirks as he launches himself at Xaven, "That's what I like to hear!!"**

**Dimus then goes in for a kick. As Xaven went to block, Dimus then punched him in the face instead, faking the kick. Xaven then goes flying back and hits right into a wall. Dimus then lands on his feet, smirking.**

**Xaven then raises himself up, smirking. He then spits out blood, "It's been a while since I saw my own blood. How exquisite! I finally found a worthy challenge! But don't let it go to your head just because you got one punch out of me!!"**

**Den Maco observes Xaven's every action. She smirks, being intrigued by his every move. She then thought of an idea at that very moment. **

**Dimus laughs at Xaven's comment, "Oh, it is that so? You haven't seen anything......**_**yet**_**!!"**

**He then runs at Xaven, throwing multiple punches. Xaven blocks most of them and dodges the rest. Each punch had such speed and timing. Dimus then punches Xaven's gut and grabs hold of his neck. He then runs with him in his grasp and slams him hard into a wall, leaving a huge dent in it. Dimus then grabs Xaven's shirt and throws him across the room. Xaven goes flying and lands onto the floor. Dimus cracks his neck and begins to walk towards Xaven, "You were saying?"**

**Xaven gasps and turns himself over. He then coughs up blood. He growls in anger as he wipes the blood from his mouth. He then stands and turns to face Dimus. Xaven's eyes narrow, "Now you're just getting to be an annoyance."**

**Dimus smirks, revealing his fangs, "I take it you don't deal with defeat very well?"**

**Xaven smirks, "Not when it's by someone as foolish as you."**

**Dimus raises an eyebrow, still smirking, "Foolish am I? I'm not the one stuck inside a vermin's mind now am I? I have one mind alone. Am I so foolish then?"**

**Xaven growls in anger, "You're gonna regret your words.......!!"**

**Xaven then runs at Dimus. He then disappears and reappears in front of him and slaps Dimus across the room. Dimus goes flying and lands into a wall, leaving a large hole in it. Xaven smirks, "It seems it is I who has the upper hand now."**

**Dimus' voice is heard, "Don't be so sure."**

**Xaven's eyes widened. He then turns around as Dimus drives a punch into his chest. The wind was then knocked out of Xaven. He never seen such speed in a long, long time. Xaven then goes flying upwards a little ways. Dimus then grabs his leg and throws him across the room once again. Dimus chuckles, "I'm not what you think......**_**Xaven**_**! I am the **_**King of Vampires**_**! Do you really think you can defeat me that easily?"**

**Xaven growls as he stands, "What makes you think I care? It doesn't matter to me as to who or what you are!! It's all the same to me when I vanquish ingrates like you!"**

**Dimus smirks, "Go ahead and try. Let me see your strength, vermin!"**

**Xaven growls even more. As he went to dive at Dimus, Den Maco then steps in front. She then places a small paper-like talisman on his forehead. Xaven's eyes widened as massive electricity surges from it. Den Maco smirks as she resides**_**, "Slumber my damned! Know my name! For it is Den Maco! For you are the one I will tame!!!"**_

**Xaven roars in pain and arches back as the talisman electracutes him. Den Maco smirks as Xaven is thrown back from the impact and lands onto the floor. Xaven roars, "NO!! I WILL NOT GO BACK!!!!"**

**The talisman then gets stronger and Xaven's eyes close instantly, putting him into a deep sleep. Dimus' eyes widened a little. He then turns to Den Maco, "You didn't have to step in, sister."**

**Den Maco then says, "I know. But I can't have you kill him."**

**Dimus raises an eyebrow, "Why not?"**

**Den Maco looks at Dimus and smirks, "I have some use for him. That entity has no ordinary aura. It's quite powerful. A useful asset to our **_**vampiric army**_**!!"**

**Dimus then thinks for a moment, "Hmm.....you're right. But there's one problem though."**

**Den Maco then says, "Which is?"**

**Dimus crosses his arms, "Xaven and that vermin share the same body! How will that work when I wish nothing more than that filthy werewolf dead?!!"**

**Den Maco smirks, "Because I'm gonna do the **_**Soul Transfer Ritual**_**! Allowing Xaven to have his own body and having him in our army! While Evan is yours to kill!! It's win win for both of us! Everyone gets what they want!"**

**Dimus thinks for a moment once again, "Hmm........interesting idea. Alright, Sister, how soon can you have the ritual done?"**

**Den Maco then says, "I'll need a week or so."**

**Dimus growls, "Fine. In the meantime........we'll take Evan back and I'll bring Raven back here....."**

**Den Maco smirks, "You're gonna woe her aren't you?"**

**Dimus chuckles, "Indeed I will. Indeed I will....."**

**Moments later, Evan woke up on the front lawn of the **_**League of Retribution's**_** house. He sits up and rubs his head, "Ugh.......what the hell.....?"**

**Evan then looks around and realizes that he was back at the house. Evan staggers to his feet, "I was at Dimus' castle......how did I get here?"**

**Evan then shakes his head to snap out of it. He then walks inside the house. Zero walks in the hallway. He sees Evan, "Hey....what happened to you?"**

**Evan places a hand on his head, "I have no idea."**

**Zero chuckles, "It looks like you have a hangover."**

**Evan grunts, "At this point.......I wish I did."**

**Zero shakes his head and walks off. Evan then goes to his room and falls into his bed. He felt weak and drained. He really didn't remember what had happened. **

**Raven was sleeping in her bed, still feeling drained from her last battle. Raven murmured a little in her sleep. She then turned over onto her back, still sleeping. **

**Her window was open. A cold breeze blew inside the room. Fog began to fill the room. At the foot of Raven's bed, the fog began to form a figure. The fog then drains into the figure as it formed Dimus. He then looks down at Raven sleeping. He smiles, loving the sight of her sleeping. He then walks over and sits beside her on her bed. He then leans down and kisses her lips. Raven's eyes slowly open. Dimus leans back, smiling, "Hey, love."**

**Raven's eyes widened a bit, "Dimus....."**

**Raven then sits up, "What are you doing here?"**

**Dimus frowns a little, "I heard what had happened to you on your last mission. I wish I was there for you."**

**Raven then says, "Don't worry about it. I'm okay now."**

**Dimus then puts a hand on the side of Raven's face, "Come back to my castle with me....."**

**Raven's eyes widened, "Are you serious?"**

**Dimus smiles, "I am, my dear."**

**Dimus then stands and walks over to Raven's dresser. He then sees the silver ring. He picks it up and goes back to Raven. He then grabs her hand and places it back on, "What do you say? Want to come?"**

**Raven rubs her eyes, "Okay.....I don't see why not."**

**As Raven went to stand, Dimus lifts her off her feet. Raven gasps as Dimus picked her up in his arms. He smirks, "No walking for you, my love. You still need your strength."**

**Raven chuckles a little, "I'm alright.....really."**

**Dimus smiles, "Even so.......you still shouldn't have to walk."**

**Raven smiles and giggles a little. Dimus then goes out the window and flies with Raven in his arms.**

**After a short while, Dimus and Raven arrive at the castle. They both land on the nearest balcony. Dimus then places Raven on her feet, "There we are, my sweet love."**

**Raven blushes a little, "Umm.....thanks."**

**Dimus then began to kiss her. Raven's eyes widened. She then closes her eyes and kisses back. Dimus then touches the small of her back and pulls her into himself, deepening the kiss. Raven then wraps her arms around him as the kiss went on. Dimus then places his hands under her thighs and lifts her up, hooking her legs around him. Raven gasps at the sudden action. Dimus had a firm grip on her. He then says in a whisper, **_**"I love you, Raven. I've held in my emotions for far too long."**_

**Raven's eyes widened a little. Dimus then kisses her once more. Raven's eyes widened even more. Dimus pulls back and whispers with a smirk, **_**"Time to lose your virginity."**_

**Raven raises an eyebrow, "Uhh......I'm not a virgin."**

**Dimus smirks even more, "As a vampire you are......."**

**Dimus then kisses her deeper than before. He then began to walk with her towards his bedroom. As soon as he was in the room, he closes the door with his foot.**


End file.
